US Court Dismisses Criminal Fraud Charges Against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani

A US federal court has permanently dismissed criminal securities-fraud charges against Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and former Adani Green Energy CEO Vneet Jaain, ending the proceedings against them without a trial.

US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis of the Eastern District of New York granted the Justice Department’s Rule 48(a) motion to dismiss Counts Two, Three and Four of the indictment, covering securities-fraud conspiracy, wire-fraud conspiracy and securities fraud. The dismissal was with prejudice, meaning the charges cannot be refiled.

The indictment, unsealed in November 2024, alleged that Adani Group executives were involved in a scheme to pay about USD 265 million in bribes to Indian officials to secure solar-power contracts expected to generate more than USD 2 billion in profits. Prosecutors also alleged that investors were misled while nearly USD 4 billion was raised through US financing. The Adani Group has consistently denied the allegations, calling them baseless. The Justice Department sought dismissal after reviewing the case, citing jurisdictional and evidentiary challenges, the predominantly Indian nature of the alleged conduct, previous scrutiny by Indian authorities, the absence of identified investor losses and broader public-interest considerations.

Judge Garaufis rejected several government arguments but accepted one key rationale: statements in Adani Green’s financing documents regarding its anti-bribery policies and compliance systems could amount to “inactionable puffery” generic corporate assurances that investors could not reasonably rely upon. He found this sufficient to dismiss the three fraud-related counts.

The judge also scrutinised whether Gautam Adani’s publicly announced USD 10 billion US investment pledge influenced the DOJ’s decision. After reviewing sworn declarations and government submissions, he concluded the investment proposal was not considered in the dismissal decision.

The court reserved judgment on FCPA and obstruction charges involving five non-appearing defendants, with the DOJ given until August 31 to meet further requirements. The dismissal concluded the criminal case before trial, with no witnesses examined or evidence tested. Adani welcomed the ruling, saying his faith in truth, fairness and the rule of law remained unwavering.