The US Justice Department filed a motion on May 19, 2026, to dismiss criminal fraud charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and co-defendants [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Adani faced charges stemming from a 2024 indictment that accused him of bribing Indian officials to win solar power contracts and misleading US investors [1, 2, 3, 5]. The DOJ stated it would no longer devote resources to the criminal case against individual defendants [1, 2, 3, 5]. "The Department of Justice has reviewed this case and has decided, in its prosecutorial discretion, not to devote further resources to these criminal charges against individual defendants," prosecutors said [2]. The defendants, including Adani, have consented to the DOJ's request to drop the charges [2].

The federal judge overseeing the case, Nicholas Garaufis, must approve the dismissal [2, 3]. Adani's legal team includes Robert J Giuffra Jr, known as a personal attorney to former President Donald Trump [3].

Adani was indicted in November 2024, along with others, on charges of an elaborate bribery and fraud scheme involving billions of dollars in Indian solar contracts. United States Attorney Breon Peace said, "The defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials... and Gautam S Adani, Sagar R Adani and Vneet S Jaain lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from US and international investors" [3].

In a related development, Adani Enterprises Ltd, the group's flagship company, agreed to pay $275 million to settle a US Treasury OFAC probe into alleged violations of Iran sanctions [1, 5]. The US Securities and Exchange Commission also reached an $18 million settlement with Adani and his nephew to resolve a civil fraud case linked to the DOJ charges [1, 5].

The DOJ case was initiated during the Biden administration but is being dropped under the Trump administration [1, 3, 4, 5]. One factor behind the DOJ's decision to drop criminal charges was a $10 billion investment pledge Adani made for US projects [3, 5]. Adani is ranked as the 17th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $108 billion [3].

The next step awaits Judge Garaufis’s approval of the DOJ’s motion to dismiss the charges against Adani and others [2, 3].