Key Takeaways
US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis dismissed three fraud charges against Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and executive Vneet Jaain with prejudice at the Justice Department's own request, meaning they cannot be refiled.
The November 2024 indictment alleged a $265 million bribery scheme to win Indian solar contracts while raising billions from investors who were kept in the dark.
Garaufis wrote that the DOJ official who dropped the case worked largely with Adani's defense counsel, sidelined the investigators who built it, and accused Biden-era officials of political motives without evidence.
A federal judge in Brooklyn approved the Trump administration's request to dismiss criminal charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani on Monday, and used the order to catalog his concerns about how the case died, UPI reported. Judge Nicholas Garaufis of the Eastern District of New York dismissed three fraud charges against Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and executive Vneet Jaain with prejudice, while reserving judgment on two conspiracy charges against five other defendants until the department provides more information.
Prosecutors indicted the group in November 2024, alleging schemes to pay $265 million in bribes to Indian officials for solar energy contracts, mislead the US and international investors financing them, and impede three federal investigations. In May, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter asked to drop the charges, citing prosecutorial discretion, the case's foreign center of gravity, India's own finding of no actionable misconduct, and proof problems.
Garaufis granted the request and then took it apart. In his order, he wrote that McCotter reached the decision largely in collaboration with Adani's defense counsel, appeared to swap the professional opinions of innumerable officials for his own judgment, and followed a process that "evinces a lack of respect for the judiciary." He also rebuked McCotter for claiming Biden officials unsealed the indictment to burden the incoming administration, calling that accusation baseless. The order notes Adani pledged $10 billion in US investment days after congratulating Trump on his 2024 win, and cites reported meetings with Donald Trump Jr.
Adani welcomed the outcome "with humility and deep respect for the judicial process" in a statement on X. The case is over. The questions about how it ended are not, and they land in a season when federal courts keep writing the accountability record, from the DOJ settling its own discrimination case with OpenAI to the $350 million Southeast fraud takedown. Which cases the department pursues, and which it walks away from, is becoming a story of its own.
People Also Ask
Why were the criminal charges against Gautam Adani dismissed?
The Justice Department itself moved to drop the case in May, citing prosecutorial discretion, the case's foreign focus and proof problems, and Judge Garaufis approved the request on Monday while criticizing its reasoning.
What does dismissed with prejudice mean in the Adani case?
The three fraud charges against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain are permanently closed and cannot be refiled by future prosecutors.
What did the judge criticize about the Justice Department's handling?
He wrote that the dismissal was reached largely with Adani's defense counsel, that it sidelined the officials who investigated the case, and that a political-motive accusation against Biden-era officials came without evidence.
What was Gautam Adani originally accused of?
A November 2024 indictment alleged $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts, misleading the investors who financed the projects, and obstructing three US investigations.
Sources: UPI, Court order via CourtListener, Gautam Adani on X