A US court has permanently dismissed criminal charges against Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and former Adani Green Energy CEO Vneet Jaain, bringing an end to a nearly two-year-old bribery and securities-fraud case.
The US District Court for the Eastern District of New York granted the Justice Department's Rule 48(a) motion to dismiss the indictment with prejudice. The charges included securities-fraud conspiracy, wire-fraud conspiracy and securities fraud.
Judge Nicholas Garaufis approved the dismissal after seeking further explanations from prosecutors on why the government wanted to abandon the case.
A dismissal with prejudice permanently ends the criminal proceedings and prevents the charges from being refiled. However, it does not amount to a judicial finding on the underlying allegations.
The case began in November 2024, when US prosecutors accused Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, Jaain and others of conspiring to pay USD 250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar-power contracts expected to generate more than USD 2 billion in after-tax profits over two decades.
Prosecutors also alleged that investors were misled as the group raised more than USD 3 billion through loans and bond issuances in US markets. The Adani Group rejected the allegations as baseless and maintained that it had complied with applicable laws and regulatory requirements.
In its submissions, the Trump administration argued that continuing the prosecution no longer served the interests of justice, citing jurisdictional and evidentiary challenges, the predominantly Indian nature of the alleged conduct, scrutiny of the matter by Indian authorities, the absence of identified investor losses and broader public-interest considerations.
The Justice Department also argued that the indictment, unsealed in November 2024 during the final weeks of the Biden administration, had little realistic prospect of reaching trial and appeared to have been a politically motivated "name and shame" exercise orchestrated by the outgoing administration.
Before approving the dismissal, Garaufis ordered the Justice Department to publicly explain its reasons and required the defendants to submit sworn declarations confirming there had been no promise, offer, quid pro quo or undisclosed agreement linked to the decision.
In his declaration, Gautam Adani categorically denied any such arrangement.
The judge said he was satisfied that Adani's November 2024 promise to invest USD 10 billion in the US had not influenced the Justice Department's decision. He also acknowledged that courts have a limited role in reviewing federal prosecutors' decisions to drop criminal charges.
The court found that the government had established a sufficient legal basis for dismissal on one ground: its argument that statements concerning Adani Green's anti-bribery policies and corporate compliance could constitute "inactionable puffery", broad claims that investors could not reasonably rely upon.
Garaufis rejected or found insufficient several other grounds cited by the government, including its argument that the alleged misconduct occurred largely in India and therefore raised significant US securities-law jurisdictional concerns.
The court noted that the indictment alleged investors committed funds in the US and that the transactions involved the US financial system. It also found that the government's argument regarding the absence of sophisticated-investor deception was insufficient, although it did not need to decide the issue because the puffery rationale was enough to dismiss the three counts.
The separate civil action brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission has also been resolved through a final judgment against Gautam Adani. He consented to the order without admitting the allegations and is required to pay a USD 6 million civil penalty to the SEC within 30 days.
The dismissal concludes the criminal proceedings before trial. No witnesses were examined, no evidence was tested in court and no judicial findings were made on the underlying criminal allegations.
Adani welcomed the decision "with humility and deep respect for the judicial process."
"Throughout this challenging period, our faith in truth, fairness and the rule of law remained unwavering.
My deepest gratitude to those who never lost faith in us, in the system and in India's capacity for justice.
We will continue doing what matters: building for our nation, creating value that outlasts us and serving a purpose larger than ourselves.
That is our commitment," he said in a post on X.
The case unfolded amid heightened scrutiny of the Adani Group following allegations by now-shuttered short seller Hindenburg Research in January 2023. The report triggered a sharp sell-off in Adani Group stocks, wiping out more than USD 150 billion in market value at its lowest point.
The group has consistently rejected the Hindenburg allegations and maintained that it complied with all applicable laws and disclosure requirements.
With the latest ruling, the three criminal charges against Adani, Sagar Adani and Jaain have been permanently dismissed. The court also said there was no concern about prosecutorial harassment because the government sought dismissal with prejudice and the defendants consented to it.
(With inputs from PTI)
