U.S. DoJ sought to drop Adani charges to avoid possible ‘diplomatic strife’

BILATERAL – INDIA-USA

6 JULY 2026

• The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has cited possible “diplomatic strife” to justify its move to drop all charges against Indian industrialist Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and their associates over securities fraud allegations.
• The indictments against the Adanis and associates pertain to a foreign case and the U.S.’s actions as “world police can cause diplomatic strife”, the DoJ said, adding that “not a penny has been lost” due to the alleged fraud.
• “This is a foreign case… several Indians (with maybe a European or two) allegedly tried to bribe other Indians by paying the Indian government via complex Indian rebate programs to get Indian contracts to provide electricity in India,” said a 10-page note submitted by the DoJ to a U.S. court.
• The two indictments in November 2024 against the Adanis and their associates involve two separate cases: one under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in which it was alleged that the defendants had bribed government officials in India.
• The second case was brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange commission in which the allegation was that these parties had raised funds in the U.S. without first disclosing these allegedly corrupt practices.
• In May 2026, the DoJ first sought approval from the Eastern District Court of New York to drop the cases entirely. The court, however, asked for reasons for dropping the case.
• While resisting an explanation by saying the DoJ was not constitutionally required to provide a reason, it said it was providing a “limited waiver” of this privilege this one time.
• It further said that India has investigated many of the allegations in the case and has found no actionable misconduct.
• “So, the country with by far the strongest interest here seems to have concluded nothing inappropriate happened,” the DoJ said.
• It further indicated that revealing the contents of the indictment was a political move by the Biden Administration.