New York (AFP) – A US judge threw out a case against Indian billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani on Monday after the Trump administration decided to drop the fraud and bribery allegations against him. Court filings showed Brooklyn federal judge Nicholas Garaufis formally rubber-stamped a May request by prosecutors to throw out the 2024 allegations that Adani participated in a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian officials for lucrative solar energy supply contracts.
US media had reported that Adani’s attorney, Robert Giuffra, who is also Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, told Justice Department officials in April that if charges were dropped, the magnate would be willing to invest $10 billion in the American economy. The judge in the case had previously asked if the reported investment pledge was a factor in the US government’s decision to drop the case, a rare move in the federal legal system, but ultimately concluded it was not part of prosecutorial decision-making.
Garaufis was, however, scornful of the way in which Trump-appointed Deputy Associate Attorney General Trent McCotter went about having the case dismissed. “The fact that McCotter came to this decision largely in collaboration with defense counsel, and seemingly without input from the FBI and SEC agents who investigated the alleged misconduct, or (prosecutors) who brought the case, appears to be highly unusual,” he wrote.
The Adani Group is one of India’s largest business empires, operating businesses ranging from ports and power plants to cement factories and media houses. Adani, one of India’s richest men and a vocal backer of Trump on social media, has been rocked in recent years by corporate fraud allegations and a stock crash. Adani is a close ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hails from the leader’s home state of Gujarat.
“I welcome the US court’s decision with humility and deep respect for the judicial process,” Adani wrote on social media. “Throughout this challenging period, our faith in truth, fairness and the rule of law remained unwavering.”
© 2024 AFP
