The indictments against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and their associates pertain to a foreign case and the U.S.’ actions as “world police can cause diplomatic strife”, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) on Saturday (July 4, 2026) said while providing justification for why it was seeking to drop all charges against the Adanis and their associates.
It added that “not a penny has been lost” due to the securities fraud allegation made against the Adanis and associates.
These statements by the DoJ come even as the U.S. is currently engaged in a war with Iran in which it killed that country’s spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and also in January 2026 launched a raid on Venezuela in which it captured that country’s President and transported him to the U.S. to face federal charges.
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 basically was that these parties had raised funds in the U.S. without first disclosing these allegedly corrupt practices.
Limited waiver
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.
“This is a foreign case. The first two pages of the indictment tell the story: 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 Indian electricity to Indians in India,” the 10-page note it submitted on Saturday (July 4) reads.
“The United States pretending to be the world police can cause diplomatic strife and also wastes resources better spent on domestic concerns,” it added. “India can better manage its internal systems than can prosecutors in Brooklyn and Washington.”
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.
‘Not a penny lost’
Regarding the securities case, the DoJ said that there had been no loss to the U.S. and that all relevant payments have been made by the concerned parties. It further indicated that revealing the contents of the indictment was a political move by the Biden Administration.
“Not a single penny has ever been lost on the securities at issue,” it said. “The indictment was unsealed in the final days of the prior Administration, apparently as a “name and shame” designed to levy accusations without any realistic prospect of a trial ever occurring.”
It added that the DoJ leadership at the time was “surely aware they were dropping a potential quagmire of a case” on the incoming Trump Administration, “and perhaps that was an intentional choice”.
Extraordinary proof problems
Finally, the DoJ said that there would have been “extraordinary proof problems” in this case, largely because significant evidence and key witnesses are in India.
“The defendants have never appeared and probably never would,” it said. “They are all foreign nationals who live abroad in locations that offer no reasonable prospect of arrest.”
This has also meant that, 18 months after indictment, no proceedings have taken place, it added.
“There should have been no judicial concern about dismissing a case that has never proceeded past an indictment,” the DoJ said.
