US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis has directed Gautam Adani to file a sworn affidavit by July 15 stating whether he is aware of any agreement, promise, or benefit linked to the Justice Department's decision to dismiss criminal charges against him. According to reports from PTI, the judge asked Adani to address whether he is aware of any exchange made in return for the charges being dropped. Sources indicate that Adani is likely to file the affidavit this week in response to the court directive. The Adani group did not offer any comment on the issue, saying the matter is sub judice.
The dismissal motion was filed by Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General R Trent McCotter, who stated he was the 'final and sole decision-maker' behind the dismissal. As reported by PTI, McCotter denied media reports linking the decision to Adani Group's plans to invest about USD 10 billion in the United States. He emphasized that the decision was made regardless of any investment commitments, stating 'I would have sought dismissal of the securities charges regardless of any mentions of investments.' McCotter wrote that 'The mention of potential investments could not have played any role' and that the decision was not a close call, adding that the FCPA charges should have been dismissed a year ago. The filing was ordered after the US Justice Department told the court it sought dismissal solely because the securities case was legally indefensible.
McCotter outlined several legal grounds for seeking dismissal, including that the securities fraud case was 'legally indefensible' and most alleged conduct occurred in India. According to the filing reported by PTI, he argued that Indian authorities had investigated the matter and found no actionable misconduct, investors suffered no losses, key evidence and witnesses were outside the United States, and defendants were unlikely to appear before a US court. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act charges were also cited as no longer aligning with the Trump administration's enforcement priorities, which focus on cases involving US national security, American companies or transnational criminal organisations.
The Justice Department moved to dismiss charges brought in 2024 under the Biden administration, accusing Adani and seven others of participating in a scheme to pay about USD 50 million in bribes to Indian officials to secure power supply contracts and misleading investors while raising capital from US markets. As reported by PTI, Adani has denied all allegations. Judge Garaufis noted that McCotter's filing introduced 'for the first time' the possibility that some form of agreement involving one or more defendants may have existed in connection with the dismissal, even though no such arrangement had been disclosed to the court. The court must now determine whether the Justice Department's stated reasons are genuine and whether any undisclosed agreements influenced the decision before granting the dismissal motion.
