The US Department of Justice (DOJ) defends the bid to drop the criminal case against industrialist Gautam Adani and his co-defendants permanently, arguing that the prosecution was based on conduct that was overwhelmingly foreign, had little connection to the United States, and stood little chance of resulting in a conviction.
The submission was made before US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis, who had earlier directed the DOJ to explain its decision to abandon the prosecution after rejecting its initial, brief request for dismissal. In a detailed 10-page filing, the department contended that the case, instituted in 2024 during the final days of the previous administration, should never have been brought and did not align with its present enforcement priorities.
The criminal indictment had alleged that Adani and others conspired to pay bribes to Indian government officials to secure approvals for a large solar power project and subsequently misled US investors about the group’s anti-corruption practices. The Adani Group has consistently denied the allegations.
According to the DOJ, the alleged payments were made by Indian nationals, working for Indian companies, to Indian public officials, with no involvement of US companies, organised crime, or national security interests. It argued that prosecuting a case with such limited US connections would neither advance American law enforcement priorities nor serve the interests of justice. The department also described the indictment as a “name-and-shame” exercise with little realistic prospect of ever proceeding to trial.
The department further cited legal and practical considerations, including the absence of identifiable victims or financial losses within the United States and what it described as insufficient evidence to justify continuing the prosecution.