New York (AFP) – A U.S. judge on Monday formally dismissed a case against Indian billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani after the Trump administration decided to drop fraud and bribery allegations against him.
Brooklyn federal judge Nicholas Garaufis formally approved a May request by prosecutors to discard the 2024 allegations. These claims asserted that Adani was involved in a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian officials to secure lucrative solar energy supply contracts.
According to U.S. media reports, Adani’s attorney, Robert Giuffra, who also serves as Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, informed Justice Department officials in April that if the charges were dropped, the magnate would be willing to invest $10 billion in the American economy.
The judge in the case had previously questioned whether the reported investment pledge influenced the U.S. government’s decision to drop the case, a move considered rare in the federal legal system. However, Garaufis ultimately concluded that it was not a factor in the prosecutorial decision-making.
Despite this, Judge Garaufis expressed strong disapproval of the manner in which Trump-appointed Deputy Associate Attorney General Trent McCotter pursued the dismissal of the case.
“The fact that McCotter came to this decision largely in collaboration with defense counsel, and seemingly without input from the FBI and SEC agents who investigated the alleged misconduct, or (prosecutors) who brought the case, appears to be highly unusual,” Garaufis wrote.
The Adani Group is one of India’s largest business empires, with diverse operations spanning ports, power plants, cement factories, and media houses. Adani, one of India’s wealthiest individuals and a vocal supporter of Trump on social media, has faced corporate fraud allegations and a significant stock crash in recent years.
Adani is known to be a close ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hails from the leader’s home state of Gujarat.
Following the court’s decision, Adani took to social media, stating, “I welcome the US court’s 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.”
