Adani seeks dismissal of U.S. bribery charges after Justice Department retreat

Lawyers for Gautam Adani asked a Brooklyn federal judge on June 24 to formally dismiss criminal charges after the Justice Department said in May that it would no longer pursue the prosecution. The filing put the focus squarely on how far U.S. regulators and prosecutors can reach into a cross-border conglomerate when alleged misconduct touches American investors, U.S. markets and sanctions rules.

The criminal case was unsealed in Brooklyn on November 20, 2024, in a five-count indictment that accused Gautam Adani, Sagar R. Adani, Vneet S. Jaain and other executives, including Ranjit Gupta, Rupesh Agarwal, Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal and Deepak Malhotra, of conspiring to commit securities and wire fraud. Prosecutors said more than $250 million in bribes were promised to Indian government officials so a subsidiary of the Adani Group could win approval to develop a solar plant, while the company allegedly misled U.S. investors about its anti-corruption practices.

Adani’s legal team told U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis that the case should end because it falls outside the reach of U.S. law and because prosecutors would not be able to prove the alleged bribery in India. The Justice Department’s retreat after roughly 19 months of litigation marked a rare reversal in a major foreign-corruption case that had also been tied to U.S. investor disclosure claims.

That parallel securities case remained active in a separate track. On May 14, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission sought final judgments against Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani, proposing civil penalties of $6 million and $12 million. The SEC said the alleged misconduct overlapped with Adani Green’s September 2021 bond offering, which raised $750 million, including more than $175 million from U.S. investors, while the bribery scheme was still underway.

The sanctions case added another layer of pressure. On May 18, 2026, the Office of Foreign Assets Control announced a $275 million settlement with Adani Enterprises Limited over 32 apparent violations involving Iran sanctions, saying the company caused U.S. financial institutions to process about $192.1 million in payments tied to liquefied petroleum gas shipments from November 2023 to June 2025. Treasury called the conduct egregious and said it had not been voluntarily disclosed.

Together, the criminal, civil and sanctions actions showed how quickly a U.S. enforcement case can spread across a multinational group’s financing, compliance record and market access. Even with the Justice Department stepping back, the judge still must approve the dismissal, leaving the legal and reputational consequences unresolved for now.