US judge ends graft case against India's Adani

On Monday, a US judge dismissed a fraud and bribery case against Indian billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani, following the Trump administration's decision to withdraw the charges. Brooklyn federal judge Nicholas Garaufis formally accepted prosecutors' May request to dismiss the 2024 allegations that Adani took part in a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian officials for lucrative solar energy contracts.

Adani's attorney, Robert Giuffra, who is also Donald Trump's personal lawyer, reportedly told Justice Department officials in April that if charges were dropped, the magnate would invest $10 billion in the American economy. The judge inquired if the reported investment pledge influenced the US government's decision to drop the case, an unprecedented move in the federal legal system, but ultimately deemed it unrelated to the prosecutorial decision-making.

Garaufis expressed disdain for Trump-appointed Deputy Associate Attorney General Trent McCotter's handling of the dismissal, calling it "highly unusual" that McCotter collaborated with defense counsel in making the decision, without consulting the FBI and SEC agents who investigated the misconduct, or the prosecutors who brought the case.

Adani, one of India's wealthiest individuals and a vocal Trump supporter, has faced corporate fraud allegations and a stock market crash in recent years. Adani expressed humility and respect for the judicial process on social media, welcoming the US court's decision.