US prosecutors indicted Gautam Adani and seven others over an alleged $250M+ bribery scheme concealed from US investors, then moved to drop the case in May 2026 after Adani pledged $10B of US investment, and a federal judge is refusing to rubber-stamp the dismissal.
LATEST DEVELOPMENT · JUL 15, 2026
Gautam Adani filed a sworn affidavit denying any promise, agreement or exchange behind the DOJ’s motion to dismiss, answering Judge Garaufis’s 8 July order. With the DOJ’s supplemental justification also on file, the dismissal decision now rests with the court.
BACKGROUND
A five-count indictment unsealed in Brooklyn in November 2024 charged Adani Group founder Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and Adani Green executive Vneet Jaain with securities fraud and securities- and wire-fraud conspiracies, alleging they agreed to pay more than $250M in bribes to Indian officials to secure solar power contracts while raising over $3B from US investors and lenders on false anti-corruption assurances. Five former Azure Power and CDPQ executives were charged with FCPA and obstruction conspiracies. The SEC filed a parallel civil action, and the Adani Group lost tens of billions of dollars in market value in the days after the charges became public.
On 18 May 2026, following Gautam Adani’s pledge to invest $10B in the United States and amid the administration’s broader pullback from foreign-bribery enforcement, the DOJ moved to dismiss the indictment with prejudice. The SEC simultaneously agreed to settle its case for $18M in civil penalties (pending court approval), alongside a reported $275M Adani settlement with the US Treasury over sanctions-related allegations. Judge Nicholas Garaufis declined to grant the dismissal on the papers, calling the government’s explanation “terse, bland and conclusory,” ordered the DOJ to justify each reason by 13 July, and directed Gautam Adani to answer under oath whether anything was promised or exchanged for the dismissal. Adani’s sworn denial was filed by 15 July 2026, and the motion is now before the court.
TIMELINE
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JUL 20, 2026JUDGMENTDOJ reported to have dropped the Adani bribery caseFollowing Gautam Adani’s sworn affidavit and the court’s review process, press reports indicate the Justice Department succeeded in having the criminal case against Adani and co-defendants dropped. Full details of the court’s order (e.g., whether dismissal was with prejudice, and treatment of the parallel SEC action) were not independently confirmed in this search session.
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JUL 15, 2026FILINGAdani swears no deal lies behind the dismissalIn a sworn affidavit, Gautam Adani denies awareness of anything “promised, offered, sought, received, agreed to, or accepted” in exchange for dropping the case. The Rule 48(a) motion is now fully submitted.
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JUL 8, 2026PROCEDURALCourt orders Gautam Adani to answer under oathAfter the DOJ’s supplemental filing arguing the case should never have been brought, the judge directs Adani to state in writing, under oath, whether any promise or deal is connected to the dismissal, by 15 July.
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JUN 26, 2026PROCEDURALJudge Garaufis refuses to rubber-stamp the dismissalCalling the government’s notice “terse, bland and conclusory,” the court orders the DOJ to state each reason for dismissal with factual support by 13 July 2026.
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MAY 18, 2026FILINGDOJ moves to dismiss the indictment with prejudiceThe motion follows Adani’s pledge of $10B in US investment. An $18M SEC penalty settlement (pending approval) and a reported $275M Treasury sanctions settlement land the same week.
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NOV 20, 2024FILINGFive-count indictment unsealed in BrooklynReturned under seal on 24 October 2024, the indictment charges the Adanis and Vneet Jaain with securities fraud and fraud conspiracies, and five former Azure Power and CDPQ executives with FCPA and obstruction conspiracies. The SEC files a parallel civil action.