US court drops criminal case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani

US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis has granted a motion by the US Department of Justice to dismiss the criminal case against Gautam Adani, Asia’s richest man and Indian billionaire.

Before doing so, Garaufis requested an explanation for the decision and examined whether it could have been influenced by a pledge by Adani Group to invest $10 billion in the US economy, made in November 2024, Reuters reports.

In 2024, Adani was accused of agreeing to bribe Indian officials in order to secure approval for an Adani Group subsidiary to build a solar power plant. The billionaire was also accused of defrauding US investors by reassuring them that the company was fighting corruption while allegedly doing otherwise.

Adani Group denied all the allegations. Adani himself did not appear in a US court to testify over the charges.

As part of a separate settlement concerning civil claims, Adani agreed to pay $6 million, while his nephew, Sagar Adani, agreed to pay $12 million without admitting or denying the allegations.

The judge sought additional explanations from the Justice Department, calling its initial justification for dismissing the case insufficient. He also asked Adani whether there had been a secret deal. In a sworn statement dated July 15, Adani said he was unaware of any arrangement that provided for anything in exchange for the dismissal of the criminal case.

He confirmed that his lawyers had discussed with the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) the possibility of taking into account Adani Group’s previously announced plans to invest $10 billion in the United States as part of a settlement. However, according to Reuters, the Justice Department informed the defence that it would not consider those investments when deciding whether to dismiss the criminal case.

On August 10, the judge dismissed the charges, agreeing with the prosecutors’ arguments.

By Jeyhun Aghazada