Adani denies US investment pledge behind DOJ case dismissal

Gautam Adani has denied under oath that his proposed $10 billion investment in the US influenced the Justice Department’s decision to seek the dismissal of criminal charges against him and seven other defendants.

In an affidavit filed on Wednesday, 15 July, in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the Adani Group chairman said he was unaware of anything being promised, offered or exchanged in return for the government’s request to end the prosecution.

The filing came after US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis asked Adani to answer under oath whether he knew of any promise, offer, agreement or benefit connected with the proposed dismissal.

Adani said he was not aware of “anything promised, offered, sought, received, agreed to, or accepted” in connection with the Justice Department’s decision, according to the affidavit filed in United States v. Adani. He also denied knowing of any agreement under which something of value would be exchanged for the dismissal of the indictment.

The court sought the declaration after the Justice Department disclosed that Adani’s lawyers had raised the group’s proposed US investments during discussions with government officials.

According to the government’s submission to the court, lawyers for the defendants had referred to potential investments but were told that the proposal would not be considered in deciding the criminal case.

A senior Justice Department official responsible for the dismissal decision said the investment proposal did not affect his assessment and that he would have sought to end the prosecution regardless of any reference to US investments.

The government has asked Garaufis to dismiss the indictment with prejudice, which would prevent prosecutors from bringing the same charges again.

The judge has not yet approved the request. He previously asked the department for a fuller explanation after finding that its initial justification did not provide enough information for the court to assess the proposed dismissal.

The Justice Department said in May that it had reviewed the prosecution and decided not to devote further resources to the criminal charges. Adani Green Energy subsequently told Indian stock exchanges that the court’s order on the dismissal request was still awaited.

Adani announced the proposed US investment on 13 November 2024, saying his group planned to commit $10 billion to energy-security and infrastructure projects and create as many as 15,000 jobs. The announcement came one week before US prosecutors publicly unveiled the indictment.

The case was filed under seal on 24 October 2024 and announced by the Justice Department on 20 November 2024.

US prosecutors accused Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, Adani Green Energy executive Vneet Jaain and five other business executives of participating in fraud, foreign-corruption or obstruction offences connected with Indian solar-power contracts.

The indictment alleged that more than $250 million in bribes was offered or promised to Indian government officials to secure solar-energy supply agreements expected to generate more than $2 billion in after-tax profits over about 20 years. The charges remain allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Jaain were charged with securities-fraud and wire-fraud conspiracies and substantive securities fraud. They were accused of concealing the alleged bribery scheme while raising money from US and international investors.

The three were not charged with a standalone violation of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Four other defendants were charged with conspiring to violate the FCPA, while several defendants also faced an obstruction conspiracy charge.

Prosecutors alleged that Adani Green and related entities raised more than $3 billion through loans and bond offerings using false or misleading statements about their anti-bribery controls and the alleged conduct.

The Adani Group has repeatedly denied the allegations.

The indictment will remain pending unless Garaufis grants the Justice Department’s motion.