A United States judge has dismissed criminal charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, bringing an end to a high-profile bribery and fraud case.

US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis on Monday approved the Justice Department’s request to dismiss the charges against Mr Adani and his companies.

The case stemmed from allegations made in 2024 that Mr Adani and his associates had paid bribes to Indian officials to secure lucrative renewable energy contracts and had misled US investors about the alleged scheme.

Mr Adani and his companies have consistently denied the allegations.

Following the ruling, Mr Adani welcomed the dismissal, saying he accepted the decision with “humility” and “deep respect” for the judicial process.

However, Judge Garaufis strongly questioned the circumstances surrounding the government’s decision to abandon the prosecution.

In a 47-page order, the judge said R Trent McCotter, a senior Justice Department official, had worked with Mr Adani’s lawyers on the dismissal without consulting the prosecutors and investigators who had originally handled the case.

Judge Garaufis described the process as “highly unusual” and said Mr McCotter appeared to have substituted his own judgement for that of officials directly involved in the investigation.

“The irregularities in the decision to dismiss the indictment are concerning,” the judge wrote.

The Justice Department had asked the court in May to dismiss the charges, arguing that much of the alleged conduct had occurred outside the US, making the case difficult to prosecute.

The department also said continuing the prosecution no longer aligned with its priorities.

Judge Garaufis initially rejected the government’s explanation as insufficient. In June, he ordered officials to provide additional information about why they wanted to abandon the case.

The judge also questioned whether Mr Adani’s pledge to invest $10bn in the US and create 15,000 jobs had influenced the decision.

Mr Adani announced the proposed investment in November 2024 while congratulating President Donald Trump on his election victory. Reports later suggested that his lawyers had raised the investment during discussions with Justice Department officials about the criminal case.

Mr Adani’s legal team denied that the investment had been offered in exchange for the charges being dropped.

ALSO READ: Trump is my president, Davido defends calling US attention to Osun guber

Judge Garaufis ultimately concluded that the proposed investment had not influenced the Justice Department’s decision. However, he warned that the circumstances could still affect public perceptions of equal justice and the rule of law.

The judge also found that the dismissal decision appeared to have been made without meaningful involvement from prosecutors who had brought the case or investigators from the FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission.

The charges were dismissed “with prejudice”, meaning the same criminal charges cannot be brought against Mr Adani again.

Mr Adani never appeared in a US court during the proceedings.

In a statement posted on X, he said that throughout the case, his faith in “truth, fairness and the rule of law” had remained unwavering.

The criminal case is separate from other legal proceedings involving Mr Adani and his companies in the US.

In May, Mr Adani agreed to pay $6m, while his nephew Sagar Adani agreed to pay $12m, to settle allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission concerning investor disclosures. Neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing.

Separately, Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship company, agreed to pay $275m to settle potential civil liability related to alleged violations of US sanctions on Iran.

Mr Adani, 64, is chairman of the Adani Group, a major Indian conglomerate with interests spanning energy, ports, airports and other infrastructure.

He is one of India’s wealthiest businessmen and is widely regarded as being close to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both men come from Gujarat in western India.

(BBC News)