The US Department of Justice has permanently dropped all criminal charges against Indian tycoon Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, bringing the high-profile securities and wire fraud case in New York to a complete close after prosecutors concluded they could not sustain the allegations. According to a court filing in the Eastern District of New York, the Department of Justice requested dismissal of the indictment against the Adanis with prejudice, stating that it has decided, in its prosecutorial discretion, not to devote further resources to these criminal charges against individual defendants. The court subsequently ordered that the indictment against Adani and others be dismissed with prejudice, preventing the case from being reopened. As per The Hindu BusinessLine, this marks a dramatic turn in a case that had threatened to disrupt the Adani Group's global expansion plans, with the closure following months of aggressive engagement between US prosecutors and a formidable legal team assembled by the Adanis. The filing was signed by Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter and Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr., with Judge Nicholas Garaufis still required to approve the request.
The dismissal follows multiple regulatory settlements involving the Adani Group in recent days. As reported by NDTV, last week the US Securities and Exchange Commission settled civil allegations against the two men tied to disclosures made to investors in connection with solar energy projects in India. Gautam Adani agreed to pay ₹48 crore ($6 million) and Sagar Adani paid ₹104 crore ($12 million), without admitting or denying wrongdoing. Additionally, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) settled allegations of the Adani Group violating US sanctions on Iran in LPG imports, with the Indian conglomerate agreeing to pay ₹2,250 crore ($275 million) while extending extensive cooperation with the investigation. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, this settlement followed the Indian conglomerate agreeing to pay $275 million while extending "extensive cooperation" with the investigation and making "proactive" disclosures. The closure of multiple US regulatory and legal investigations involving the group has all closed in the last couple of days.
The OFAC settlement involved Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) for alleged violations of US sanctions on Iran through LPG imports. As reported by Business Standard, from November 2023 to June 2025, AEL purchased shipments of LPG from a Dubai-based trader purporting to supply Omani and Iraqi gas that actually originated from Iran. The settlement covers 32 apparent violations of OFAC's Iran sanctions, with the LPG being imported through APSEZ-operated Mundra port in Gujarat. According to the OFAC order, none of the parties involved were sanctioned at the time of the LPG shipments, and none of the documentation provided to AEL contained information explicitly pointing to Iranian origin. However, AEL's sanctions compliance program did not include adequate measures to account for risks from these dealings. OFAC stated that AEL caused US financial institutions to process 32 US dollar-denominated payments totalling approximately $192,100,040 for the shipments during this time period.
Following the discovery of the Iranian LPG issue in June 2025, AEL immediately suspended all LPG imports and engaged US-based counsel for a comprehensive investigation. As reported by Business Standard, AEL extensively cooperated with OFAC's investigation, including proactive disclosures, large volumes of documentation, and prompt resolution of potential liability. The company implemented extensive enhancements to its sanctions compliance program across its corporate group and provided substantial cooperation to OFAC. Under OFAC guidelines, the statutory maximum penalty could have reached about $384 million based on transaction values, but the agency reduced the final settlement to $275 million citing voluntary self-reporting, proactive engagement, and corrective compliance steps. AEL settled without admitting the allegations, with the settlement amount less than the maximum due to its remedial actions and compliance commitments.
The dismissal with prejudice represents a rare outcome in US criminal proceedings and typically reflects a determination that pursuing the case is no longer warranted after extensive review. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, the case turned in Adani's favour after prosecutors found no clear US linkages and insufficient evidence to sustain the allegations, with the dismissal being "with prejudice" preventing the case from being reopened. Attorneys for Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani had argued in court that there was no credible evidence supporting the alleged bribery scheme and that the Securities and Exchange Commission lacked jurisdiction over the two men. The Adani Group had denied the allegations, saying none of its entities or executives had been charged under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and that Adani Green Energy, the renewable energy arm that raised the funds at issue, was not a party to the proceedings. The anticipated decision follows months of aggressive engagement between US prosecutors and a formidable legal team assembled by the Adanis, with five American legal counsel from Sullivan & Cromwell, alongside Nixon Peabody, Hecker Fink, Norton Rose Fulbright and Bracewell making submissions to US authorities. According to Associated Press, lawyers for Adani and his co-defendants consented to the request, with Adani's lawyer Robert Giuffra declining to comment.
