US judge ends graft case against India’s Adani, who shares lawyer with Trump

In a recent turn of events, a US federal judge has dismissed a 2024 fraud and bribery case against Indian billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani. The Brooklyn federal judge, Nicholas Garaufis, granted prosecutors' request to drop the charges, which alleged Adani was involved in a US$265 million scheme to bribe Indian officials for lucrative solar energy contracts.

Sources report that Adani's lawyer, Robert Giuffra, who also serves as Donald Trump's personal attorney, informed Justice Department officials in April that if the charges were dismissed, the magnate would be willing to invest US$10 billion in the American economy. Garaufis expressed skepticism about how Trump-appointed Deputy Associate Attorney General Trent McCotter arrived at the decision to dismiss the case, noting the lack of input from FBI and SEC agents, as well as the prosecutors who initially brought the charges.

Adani, a prominent member of India's largest business conglomerate and a vocal supporter of Trump on social media, expressed humility and respect for the judicial process in response to the court's decision.