In a dramatic reversal to one of the most closely watched corporate investigations involving an Indian business group, the US Department of Justice has permanently dropped all criminal charges against Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani.
The move brings the high-profile securities and wire fraud case in New York to a complete end after US prosecutors concluded they could no longer sustain the allegations. Court filings showed the Department of Justice requested dismissal of the indictment “with prejudice,” meaning the case cannot be reopened in the future.
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“The Department of Justice has reviewed this case and has decided, in its prosecutorial discretion, not to devote further resources to these criminal charges against individual defendants,” prosecutors said in the filing.
The court subsequently ordered that the indictment against the Adanis and others be dismissed permanently.
Case had threatened Adani Group’s global ambitions
The suit was initially brought forth in late 2024 by the United States' Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission accusing the Adanis of masterminding a bribery scam worth $265 million in India involving public servants associated with solar energy deals. It was also contended that American investors and lenders were lied to when raising funds.
X/ U.S. Department of Justice The Adani Group vehemently denied all charges and said the charges brought against them were baseless.
According to sources privy to the matter, the prosecutors found it difficult to prove any connection to US jurisdiction and lacked sufficient evidence to continue prosecution.
Those following the proceedings closely had begun to doubt whether the US authorities were trying to expand their scope of securities laws in the pursuit of foreign conduct.
Multiple investigations closed within days
It came after a number of settlements relating to the Adani Group had been reached in the US.
Earlier last week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission resolved civil charges related to investor disclosure matters concerning Indian solar energy projects. Documents filed in court revealed Gautam Adani would pay a fine of $6 million while Sagar Adani would settle for a fine of $12 million without admitting or denying guilt.
Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani ANI In addition, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control entered into a settlement agreement regarding violations involving LPG importations from Iran, where the Adani Group settled for a fine of $275 million.
With the DOJ charges now dropped, all legal processes and proceedings concerning the conglomerate in the United States are basically resolved in just a few days.
Legal team challenged US jurisdiction
In submissions filed earlier this year before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Adani’s legal team argued that the SEC’s proceedings represented an “impermissibly extraterritorial application” of American securities law.
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The defence maintained that the matter involved Indian defendants, an Indian issuer and transactions that largely occurred outside the US. Lawyers also argued that there were no investor losses and that the alleged bribery accusations had not been adjudicated in India.
The legal defence included firms such as Sullivan & Cromwell, Nixon Peabody, Hecker Fink, Norton Rose Fulbright and Bracewell.
The closure of the case is expected to significantly ease pressure on the Adani Group’s international financing and expansion plans, which had faced uncertainty since the investigations first emerged.
