NEW YORK — A U.S. federal judge has dismissed criminal charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, ending a high-profile bribery and fraud case after the Justice Department decided it would no longer pursue the prosecution.
U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in Brooklyn approved the government's request to dismiss the charges, while expressing concern about how the Justice Department reached its decision. The dismissal prevents the criminal charges from being brought again.
The Justice Department said in May that it had reviewed the case and decided not to devote further resources to the charges. In a subsequent filing, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said the case was primarily foreign, difficult to prove and inconsistent with the department's current enforcement priorities.
Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, had been charged in 2024 with allegedly participating in a scheme to bribe Indian government officials in connection with a solar energy project and misleading U.S. investors about the company's anti-corruption practices. Adani Group has denied wrongdoing, and Gautam Adani has not appeared in a U.S. court to answer the charges.
Garaufis said he was satisfied that Adani's previous pledge to invest $10 billion in the United States did not influence the Justice Department's decision to abandon the prosecution. The judge had previously asked whether any promise or agreement was connected to the dismissal.
The judge nevertheless criticized McCotter for making the decision without input from prosecutors and investigators who had worked on the case. Garaufis wrote that the circumstances surrounding the dismissal were concerning but said the court's role in reviewing the government's decision was limited.
Adani said in a statement posted on X that he welcomed the court's decision and expressed respect for the judicial process.
The criminal case is separate from civil proceedings brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Gautam Adani agreed to pay $6 million and Sagar Adani $12 million to resolve those allegations without admitting or denying wrongdoing. Adani Enterprises also agreed to pay $275 million to settle alleged violations of U.S. sanctions on Iran.
Garaufis said his decision to dismiss the criminal charges should not be viewed as an endorsement of the Justice Department's reasoning or as a determination on the underlying allegations.
The dismissal brings the criminal prosecution against Adani to an end, while the separate civil resolutions remain distinct from the criminal case.
