The decision comes after US regulators, including the SEC and OFAC, also settled related investigations involving the Adani Group in recent days.
BY PC Bureau
New Delhi/New York, May 18, 2026 — The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has permanently dropped all criminal charges against Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, bringing a high-profile securities and wire fraud case in New York to a complete close.
The decision marks the end of multiple legal and regulatory investigations involving the Adani Group in the United States over the past several months.
According to court filings before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the DOJ moved to dismiss the indictment “with prejudice,” meaning the charges cannot be refiled in the future.
“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,” the filing stated.
The court subsequently ordered that the indictment against Gautam Adani and others be dismissed permanently.
Background of the Case
The criminal and civil proceedings, initiated in late 2024, alleged that the Adanis were involved in a purported USD 265 million bribery scheme linked to solar power contracts in India. Prosecutors had claimed that information connected to the alleged scheme was concealed from American investors and lenders during capital-raising exercises.
However, people familiar with the matter indicated that the case eventually weakened after investigators reportedly found insufficient evidence and no substantial jurisdictional link to the United States.
Legal experts had increasingly questioned whether American authorities had stretched US securities laws too far in attempting to prosecute conduct that allegedly occurred entirely in India.
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BIG relief for Adani Group.
The US Justice Department has dropped criminal fraud charges against Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani.
The case was dismissed with prejudice, which means the same case cannot be reopened again.
Main thing:
• DOJ moved to end the criminal case in New… pic.twitter.com/40Br9aLtMd
— Swapnil Kommawar (@KommawarSwapnil) May 18, 2026
SEC and OFAC Matters Also Settled
The dismissal comes days after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settled related civil allegations involving disclosures to investors connected to Indian solar energy projects.
Under the settlement, Gautam Adani agreed to pay USD 6 million, while Sagar Adani agreed to pay USD 12 million, without admitting or denying wrongdoing.
Separately, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) resolved allegations related to LPG imports involving Iran after the Adani Group agreed to pay USD 275 million and cooperated extensively with investigators.
With the closure of the DOJ case, all major US legal and regulatory proceedings involving the group have now effectively concluded.
Court Filings Challenged US Jurisdiction
In submissions made before the Eastern District of New York in April 2026, the Adanis’ legal team argued that the SEC proceedings represented an “impermissibly extraterritorial application” of US securities laws.
The defence maintained that the matter involved Indian citizens, an Indian company, securities not traded on US exchanges, and conduct that allegedly took place entirely within India.
The filings also argued that there were no investor losses, all bond obligations had been honoured, and Gautam Adani had not authorised the issuance of the bonds in question.
Distinction in Charges
Notably, Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and Vneet Jaain had been charged only under securities and wire fraud provisions. They were not named in the more serious Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) bribery-related charges or obstruction-related counts brought against other individuals in the broader investigation.
The Adani Group consistently denied wrongdoing throughout the proceedings, calling the allegations baseless and defending its governance and compliance standards.
The group maintained that it would contest the proceedings through legal means while continuing its global business operations.
The dismissal represents a major relief for the Adani Group, whose international expansion plans had faced uncertainty amid the prolonged legal scrutiny in the United States.
