In a significant turn in the long-running American investigation involving the Adani Group, the United States Department of Justice has asked a federal court in New York to throw out the criminal indictment filed against industrialist Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and six other accused persons.
The request was placed before Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
In its filing dated May 18, the DOJ stated that after reviewing the matter, it had decided not to continue expending prosecutorial resources on pursuing the charges. Invoking Rule 48(a) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the government urged the court to dismiss the indictment “with prejudice,” effectively preventing the same criminal case from being revived later.
The filing further noted that none of the accused had formally appeared before the court and that lawyers representing all defendants had agreed to the dismissal request. The matter now awaits judicial approval.
The application was submitted by Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter along with United States Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr.
The development comes close on the heels of another legal proceeding in the United States. The US Securities and Exchange Commission had recently proposed civil penalties amounting to $18 million against Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani in connection with allegations tied to a 2021 bond offering by Adani Green Energy Limited. The SEC case concerns alleged misleading disclosures made to investors.
The legal defence team representing Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain included Robert J. Giuffra Jr. and James McDonald. Giuffra, notably, is known for representing Donald Trump in personal legal matters and also serves as co-chair of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP alongside Scott D. Miller.
Other lawyers appearing in the matter included Timothy Sini of Nixon Peabody LLP and Andrey Spektor from Norton Rose Fulbright.
The remaining accused were defended by separate legal teams across New York, Washington DC, Boston and Singapore.
The criminal proceedings had originated from allegations surrounding a massive 12-gigawatt solar energy project. Investigators had claimed that officials linked to state electricity distribution companies in India were offered bribes to facilitate power supply agreements considered crucial for the project’s commercial viability.
According to the indictment, alleged payments worth nearly ₹2,029 crore — approximately $265 million — were said to have been promised to officials associated with state-run power utilities. A substantial portion of the alleged amount, around ₹1,750 crore, was purportedly linked to securing procurement commitments for seven gigawatts of solar power in Andhra Pradesh.
The indictment had also accused Adani-linked entities of raising more than $3 billion from American investors through loans and securities offerings while allegedly concealing the bribery allegations. Investigators had pointed in particular to a September 2021 issuance of $750 million in senior secured notes, a quarter of which were reportedly acquired by US-based investors.
