Why US DOJ wants case against Adani to be dropped
What's the story
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has requested a federal judge to dismiss the criminal case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani. The DOJ said the prosecution was legally flawed, diplomatically counterproductive, and inconsistent with the Donald Trump administration's enforcement priorities. In a 10-page filing, it argued that "the case should have been dropped a year ago - or never brought in the first place."
Case dismissal
Case against Adani filed in 2024
The DOJ's filing came after US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis sought an explanation for the department's decision to permanently dismiss the indictment. The case against Adani and others was filed in 2024 under ex-President Joe Biden's administration. It alleged their involvement in a scheme to bribe Indian government officials with $250 million and deceive investors into obtaining billions more from other entities.
Legal perspective
DOJ's response to judge Garaufis's query
The DOJ argued that compelling prosecutors to publicly justify their decisions to drop cases would discourage future dismissals and infringe on the executive branch's constitutional authority over charging decisions. Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General R Trent McCotter said he decided to dismiss the charges after months of meetings with defense lawyers, reviewing hundreds of pages of submissions, and conducting his own legal analysis. "The decision to seek dismissal was not a close call," he wrote.
Case details
Six reasons for dropping charges
The DOJ cited six main reasons for dropping all charges. The alleged conduct was mostly in India, Indian authorities had investigated and found no actionable misconduct, investors suffered no losses, key evidence and witnesses were abroad, defendants were unlikely to appear before a US court, and prosecution faced significant evidentiary hurdles. "This is a foreign case," McCotter wrote.
Charge validity
Legal basis questioned by DOJ
The DOJ also questioned the legal basis of criminal securities fraud charges against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and Cyril Cabanes. It said the alleged misconduct happened mostly outside the US and didn't meet jurisdictional requirements for securities transactions. The department also clarified that investors hadn't lost money as the notes in question had been fully repaid or continued to be serviced.
Policy alignment
'Alleged conduct did not involve criminal organizations'
The DOJ also said that the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act charges no longer aligned with its policy under Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's June 2025 memorandum. This memo directed prosecutors to focus on cases involving US national security, transnational criminal organizations, serious misconduct or harm to US companies. "The alleged conduct did not involve criminal organizations, did not have any effect on US companies," the filing said.