US federal judge questions DOJ decision to drop Adani charges

A U.S. federal judge has demanded a clearer justification from the Justice Department (DOJ) regarding its decision to drop criminal charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani. U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis, based in Brooklyn, issued an order requiring federal prosecutors to elaborate on their reasoning, noting that their initial notification was insufficient.

In a written ruling, Garaufis stated that the government's "terse, bland and conclusory statement" did not provide the court with an adequate basis for dismissal or analysis. He has set a deadline of July 13 for the DOJ to submit more detailed information. This judicial scrutiny comes a month after the DOJ announced it would no longer pursue the prosecution, a move that followed Adani's lawyers formally requesting the case's dismissal.

The decision to drop the charges in May occurred shortly after Adani committed to a $10 billion investment in the United States. Adani had been charged in 2024 with allegedly bribing Indian government officials to secure a contract for a solar power plant. The company also faced allegations of misleading U.S. investors concerning its anti-corruption practices. Adani has consistently denied all wrongdoing.

Further complicating the situation, the DOJ's decision to drop the case came after Adani retained Robert Giuffra, an attorney also representing former President Donald Trump. Giuffra argued that the case fell outside U.S. legal jurisdiction and that prosecutors could not prove the alleged bribery in India. Additionally, a member of Giuffra's legal team, James McDonald, was appointed by Trump as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan. Earlier this week, Bloomberg News reported that Adani met with Donald Trump Jr. in November while the DOJ investigation was ongoing, though the meeting's details remain undisclosed.

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The Government’s terse, bland and conclusory statement affords the court neither a sufficient basis to reach any conclusion, nor the opportunity to conduct any analysis of the Government’s request for dismissal.