US Drops All Criminal Charges Against Gautam Adani And Sagar Adani, New York Securities Fraud Case Permanently Closed

The US Department of Justice has permanently dismissed all criminal charges against industrialist Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, bringing a high-profile securities and wire fraud case in New York to a complete end.

In a major development for the Adani Group, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has officially dropped all criminal charges against Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani in a securities and wire fraud case linked to solar energy projects in India.

According to court filings submitted before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, prosecutors requested that the indictment against the Adanis be dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning the case cannot be reopened in the future.

“The Department of Justice has reviewed this case and has decided, in its prosecutorial discretion, not to devote further resources to these criminal charges,” the filing stated.

The court subsequently ordered the permanent closure of the case.

The case, originally filed in late 2024, had alleged that the Adani Group concealed an alleged USD 265 million bribery arrangement involving Indian officials while raising funds from US investors for solar energy projects.

US authorities had charged Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani under securities fraud and wire fraud provisions. However, they were not accused under the more serious Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) bribery charges that applied to some other defendants in the broader investigation.

Legal experts had increasingly questioned whether US agencies had jurisdiction over activities that were largely centred in India.

Why The Case Was Dropped

According to reports, US prosecutors found insufficient evidence and no strong US linkage to sustain the allegations after extensive review.

The Adani legal team reportedly argued that the matter involved Indian entities, Indian defendants and activities conducted entirely within India, while the securities in question were not traded on US exchanges.

In submissions made before the court earlier this year, Adani’s lawyers also argued that the SEC had attempted an “impermissibly extraterritorial application” of US securities laws.

The defence maintained that:

• No investor losses were established
• Bond obligations were fully honoured
• Gautam Adani did not authorise the bond issuance
• The SEC lacked jurisdiction in the matter

The latest decision comes after several other US investigations involving the Adani Group were also resolved recently.

Last week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settled civil disclosure-related allegations connected to solar energy projects. Gautam Adani agreed to pay USD 6 million, while Sagar Adani agreed to pay USD 12 million, without admitting or denying wrongdoing.

Separately, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) settled allegations related to Iranian LPG imports after the Adani Group agreed to pay USD 275 million and cooperated with investigators.

The Adani Group has consistently denied all allegations and maintained that its governance and compliance standards remained strong.

The closure of the criminal case is being viewed as a major relief for the conglomerate, especially as it continues expanding its global infrastructure, energy and logistics businesses.