Washington DC: A US District Court for the Eastern District of New York has dismissed with prejudice the criminal fraud and bribery charges against Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and former Adani Green Energy CEO Vneet Jaain. Granted by Judge Nicholas Garaufis under the Justice Department’s Rule 48(a) motion, the ruling permanently terminates the proceedings, barring the government from refiling the counts related to securities fraud and wire fraud conspiracy.
The case originated in November 2024 when US prosecutors alleged that Adani Group executives participated in a scheme to pay 250 million dollars in bribes to Indian officials to secure lucrative solar power contracts, while raising over 3 billion dollars from US investors. The Adani Group consistently denied the claims, describing them as baseless. In seeking dismissal, the Department of Justice cited evidentiary challenges, jurisdictional complexities, and the determination that statements regarding corporate compliance constituted inactionable puffery. Additionally, a parallel civil action by the Securities and Exchange Commission was resolved after Gautam Adani consented to a final judgment without admitting liability, agreeing to pay a 6 million dollar civil penalty.
In a related parliamentary development, the Lok Sabha passed the Tribunals Reforms Bill aimed at streamlining tribunal operations and enhancing overall efficiency.
Welcoming the judicial outcome, Gautam Adani expressed gratitude for the decision, reaffirming his faith in the rule of law and the group’s focus on national infrastructure development. Because the dismissal was granted with prejudice prior to trial, no evidence was formally tested in court, leaving no judicial findings on the original criminal allegations as the legal matter concludes.
