Gautam Adani, Nephew Sagar Adani Cleared as US Court Permanently Drops Criminal Case

A US federal court has permanently dismissed the criminal case against Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and former Adani Green Energy CEO Vneet Jaain, closing nearly two years of legal proceedings that began in late 2024.

The US District Court for the Eastern District of New York accepted a Justice Department request to drop the indictment, which had accused the men of securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and securities fraud. The dismissal was granted "with prejudice," meaning the same charges cannot be filed against them again. No trial took place, no evidence was tested in court, and no judge or jury ruled on the underlying allegations.

Bribery Allegations 

The prosecution dated back to November 2024, when US authorities accused Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, Jaain and others of orchestrating a scheme to pay roughly USD 250 million in bribes to Indian officials in exchange for solar power supply agreements. Those deals were projected to generate more than USD 2 billion in after-tax profits over 20 years. A separate case accused the group of misleading investors while it raised over USD 3 billion through loans and bonds in US capital markets.

The Adani Group has rejected the allegations and has always maintained that it operated within the law.

DOJ Argued The Case Had Run Its Course 

In asking the court to drop the charges, the Trump administration told the judge that pressing on no longer served the interests of justice. It pointed to weak jurisdictional footing, since most of the alleged conduct took place in India. It also noted that Indian regulators had already looked into the matter. There were no identified losses to investors either, prosecutors said, and public-interest concerns favoured dropping the case.

Prosecutors called the original indictment, unsealed in the final weeks of the Biden administration, unlikely to have ever gone to trial. They also framed it as a politically driven attempt to discredit the group.

Presiding Judge Nicholas Garaufis did not accept every argument the government made. He rejected the claim that the case belonged outside US jurisdiction, while noting that the indictment itself said investor funds had moved through the American financial system. He also found the government's argument about sophisticated investors unpersuasive, though he said he didn't need to rule on that point.

The court also found out that some statements about Adani Green's anti-bribery practices were broad claims that investors could not reasonably have relied upon. On that basis, the court dismissed all three counts.

Before signing off, Garaufis asked the DOJ to explain its reasons for the dismissal. He also asked Adani and the other defendants to file sworn statements confirming there was no deal, promise, or quid pro quo behind the decision. Gautam Adani filed such a statement, denying any such arrangement. The judge said he was satisfied that Adani's earlier pledge to invest USD 10 billion in the US played no role in the DOJ's decision.

SEC Case Also Resolved 

A parallel civil action from the Securities and Exchange Commission has also been settled. Gautam Adani agreed to a final judgment without admitting to the allegations, and will pay a civil penalty of USD 6 million to the regulator within 30 days.

Gautam Adani said the group had accepted the decision "with humility and deep respect for the judicial process," adding that the group's faith in the rule of law had never wavered and pledging to keep building for the country going forward.

The Hindenburg Fallout 

The criminal case happened amid scrutiny of the Adani Group that began in January 2023, when short-seller Hindenburg Research, since shut down, published a report alleging corporate wrongdoing. The report triggered a heavy sell-off in Adani stocks, wiping out more than USD 150 billion in market value. The group has always denied Hindenburg's claims and says it met all disclosure and regulatory obligations.

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