US plans to drop criminal charges against Indian billionaire

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has moved to drop criminal charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, whom it had previously accused of orchestrating a major bribery and fraud scheme to secure solar energy contracts.

The DOJ reportedly decided to drop the case after Mr Adani committed to invest $10bn in the United States and create 15,000 jobs, Independent reports.

“The Department of Justice has reviewed the case and has decided in its prosecutorial discretion not to devote further resources to these criminal charges against individual defendants,” it said in a letter sent to Judge Nicholas Garaufis at the US District Court in the Eastern District of New York.

The request still requires approval by a judge.

The decision follows months of negotiations involving senior prosecutors in New York and Mr Adani’s lawyers and associates. It also comes after parallel resolutions with US financial regulators effectively closed multiple investigations into the Adani Group’s overseas dealings.

On May 18, the US Department of the Treasury announced a $275m settlement with Adani Enterprises over alleged violations of Iran-related sanctions.

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission concluded a civil case after Mr Adani agreed to pay a penalty without admitting wrongdoing. “If approved by the court, it would order Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani to pay civil monetary penalties of $6,000,000 and $12,000,000, respectively,” the commission said in a statement.

At the centre of the withdrawn case were allegations that Mr Adani and his co-defendants engineered a $265m bribery scheme to secure solar energy contracts from Indian officials while misleading American investors during fundraising efforts.

The indictment, filed in 2024, included charges of securities and wire fraud conspiracy. US prosecutors had initially described Mr Adani’s conduct in stark terms, referring to an “elaborate” scheme involving “corruption and fraud at the expense of US investors”.

According to the New York Times, the turnaround followed Mr Adani’s appointment of a new legal team led by Robert J Giuffra Jr, co-chair of Sullivan & Cromwell and personal lawyer to US President Donald Trump.

Although prosecutors had informed Mr Giuffra that the proposed $10bn investment would not influence the criminal case, the idea was reportedly viewed positively by at least one senior DOJ official during discussions.

The DOJ brought the case during Joe Biden’s presidency. “The defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars, and Gautam S Adani, Sagar R Adani and Vneet S Jaain lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from US and international investors,” said Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, at the time.

Prosecutors also said Mr Adani and his associates misled American investors about anti-corruption compliance practices and raised more than $3bn in the process.

The defence had focused on jurisdiction and the framing of the allegations, arguing that the case represented an overreach of US law as it involved Indian defendants, an Indian issuer, and securities not traded on US markets. They said all alleged conduct occurred “exclusively in India”.

They also argued prosecutors failed to establish key elements of fraud, including investor harm, stating there were “no investor losses” and that bond obligations had been fully honoured.

The Adani Group has consistently denied wrongdoing, maintaining that its conduct complied with applicable laws and regulations.

By Vafa Guliyeva