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🇸🇬 Singapore /Crime & Justice

Justice Department wants to drop charges against Indian billionaire Adani

From The Straits Times · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Documents & data In the courts
  • The Justice Department seeks to drop charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani.
  • Prosecutors argue the case is primarily foreign, difficult to prove, and conflicts with current priorities.
  • The indictment, unsealed in the final days of the previous administration, is described as a 'name and shame' tactic.

The U.S. Justice Department is seeking to dismiss all charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, citing the case's foreign jurisdiction, difficulty of proof, and inconsistency with current agency priorities.

In a filing to U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis, prosecutors stated the case, which accused Adani of securities fraud and wire fraud related to an alleged bribery scheme, had a "baseless" start with a "little chance of success." The indictment was unsealed in the final days of the prior administration, which the filing described as a "name and shame" tactic without a realistic prospect of trial.

The indictment was unsealed in the final days of the prior Administration, apparently as a 'name and shame' designed to levy accusations without any realistic prospect of a trial ever occurring.

— Justice Department filingDescribing the origins and intent of the charges against Adani.

The department argued that U.S. government attorneys should not prosecute "foreign cases" involving alleged conduct by Indian nationals for Indian companies to the Indian government, with no U.S. companies or national security interests implicated. Adani was charged in 2024 with bribing Indian government officials for a solar energy plant approval and misleading U.S. investors about his company's anti-corruption practices.

Adani Group has consistently denied wrongdoing, and Adani himself has not appeared in U.S. court. The Justice Department's move to drop the charges marks the latest instance of the department seeking to end a high-profile white-collar prosecution during President Donald Trump's second term. While judges have limited power to force prosecutors to continue cases they wish to drop, the charges remain officially pending until dismissed by the judge.

The alleged 'payments' in this case were made by Indian nationals, working for Indian companies, to the Indian government, with no U.S. interests implicated in any way.

— Justice Department filingExplaining why the case is considered foreign and not a U.S. interest.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Straits Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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