A United States federal judge on Monday formally dismissed criminal charges in a securities fraud case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani. This comes after the Judge Nicholas Garaufis asked prosecutors to explain why they wanted to drop the charges.

However, the judge criticised senior US Justice Department official Trent McCotter’s conduct as “highly unusual” in the case.

“The fact that McCotter came to this decision [to drop the charges] largely in collaboration with defense counsel, and seemingly without input from the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] and SEC [Securities Exchange Commission] agents who investigated the alleged misconduct, or [prosecutors] who brought the case, appears to be highly unusual,” he wrote.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is the main federal law enforcement agency in the US. The primary role of the Securities Exchange Commission is to enforce laws against market manipulation.

In a court filing on July 4, McCotter said the case was primarily foreign, hard to prove and not in line with the department’s current priorities.

Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and six others had been indicted in November 2024 in the final weeks of Joe Biden’s presidency by a federal grand jury in Brooklyn, New York.

US prosecutors charged Adani with agreeing to bribe Indian government officials so that a subsidiary of his Adani Group could win approval to develop a solar energy plant. The prosecutors also alleged that the defendants made misleading statements about its anti-corruption practices while raising funds from US and international investors.

The charges complicated Adani’s investment plans, particularly in the United States and threatened his ability to travel freely outside India. In November, a week before the charges were unsealed, Adani posted on X that his company would invest $10 billion in American energy projects and create up to 15,000 jobs.

Adani had hired a team from the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell that included lawyers who were also representing US President Donald Trump.

Adani has denied wrongdoing. In a social media post early on Tuesday, Gautam Adani said that he welcomed the “court’s decision with humility and deep respect for the judicial process”.

He added: “We will continue doing what matters: building for our nation, creating value that outlasts us and serving a purpose larger than ourselves.” He concluded his message by declaring, “Jai Hind.”

In May, The New York Times reported that the US Department of Justice was planning to drop the charges against Gautam Adani. His lawyer Robert Giuffra presented about 100 slides to Department of Justice officials arguing that the prosecutors lacked evidence and jurisdiction in the matter.

However, Judge Garaufis was not satisfied with the department’s reasons to drop the case and asked the department to justify its decision, writing that its “bland and conclusory” announcement did not give him enough information.

The same month, two Democratic Party senators alleged that the reported proposal by Gautam Adani to invest in the US economy if the fraud charges against him are dropped appeared to be an “egregious quid pro quo offer”.

The judge also ordered Adani last month to provide answers to the court on whether there was any quid pro quo arrangement.

With the ruling on Monday, the judge dismissed all charges against Gautam and Sagar Adani, but is yet to rule on two counts – foreign bribery and obstruction – pending against five other co-defendants, saying prosecutors hadn’t adequately justified dropping those charges.

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