New Delhi/New York: The US Department of Justice has permanently dropped all criminal charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, bringing to a close a high-profile securities and wire fraud case in New York after prosecutors concluded they could not sustain the allegations, PTI reported.
The move wraps up several US legal and regulatory actions against the Adani Group this week. Prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York asked the court to dismiss the indictment against the Adanis “with prejudice,” meaning the charges cannot be filed again.
“The Department of Justice has reviewed this case and has decided, in its prosecutorial discretion, not to devote further resources to these criminal charges against individual defendants,” the filing stated.
A court order followed, directing that the indictment against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and others “be dismissed with prejudice,” effectively ending the criminal component of the proceedings.
Last week the US Securities and Exchange Commission settled civil claims against Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani over disclosures made to investors in relation to solar energy projects in India. Court papers show Gautam Adani agreed to pay USD 6 million and Sagar Adani USD 12 million, each without admitting or denying wrongdoing.
In a separate settlement, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control resolved allegations tied to the group’s liquefied petroleum gas imports and potential links to Iran sanctions violations. The Adani Group agreed to pay USD 275 million and, according to the settlement documents, provided “extensive cooperation” and made “proactive” disclosures during the investigation.
The criminal and civil cases filed in late 2024 alleged the Adanis ran a USD 265 million bribery scheme with Indian officials to secure solar contracts and hid the arrangement from US investors and lenders. Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain faced only securities and wire fraud charges; they were not accused under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or in obstruction counts.
People familiar with the probes said prosecutors found weak US links and insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges. That conclusion followed months of legal engagements between US prosecutors and the defendants’ US law‑firm team, including Sullivan & Cromwell, Nixon Peabody, Hecker Fink, Norton Rose Fulbright and Bracewell.
Adani’s lawyers filed several written submissions and made oral presentations during the review. In papers to the Eastern District of New York on April 7, 2026, they called the SEC’s fraud claim an “impermissibly extraterritorial application” of US securities law.
They argued the case involved “Indian defendants, an Indian issuer,” securities not traded in the US and conduct that occurred “exclusively in India.” The filings said the SEC “lacked necessary jurisdiction,” did not show actionable misstatements and could not link either defendant to the bond offering.
The defence also said the SEC had “recast” weak anti‑bribery claims as securities fraud. Their filings said there were “no investor losses,” all bond obligations were met, and Gautam Adani “did not authorise the issuance of the bonds.”
Legal experts questioned whether US authorities were overextending securities laws to cover conduct abroad. Former SEC commissioner Laura Unger said prosecutors sought to base a securities fraud case on bribery allegations that had not been tried or formally pursued in India.
The Adani Group has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, defended its governance and compliance standards and said it would contest any actions through legal channels.
