On Monday, August 10th, 2026, a federal judge in the Eastern District of New York dismissed criminal fraud charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and several of his co-defendants following a decision by politically appointed leaders at the U.S. Justice Department to terminate the case in May.

Judge Garaufis refused to dismiss two counts against five other co-defendants, citing insufficient justification from the Justice Department for dropping those charges. In a detailed 47-page ruling, Garaufis sharply criticized Trent McCotter, the principal associate deputy attorney general, holding him solely responsible for the attempt to dismiss the case. The judge wrote, "The irregularities in the decision to dismiss the indictment are concerning," highlighting that McCotter made the decision largely in collaboration with defense counsel and without apparent input from FBI and SEC agents or attorneys involved in the investigation.

The case, a high-profile foreign bribery investigation initiated near the end of former President Joe Biden's administration, survived a review ordered by former President Trump of pending foreign bribery cases by the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

According to sources and records reviewed by CBS News, during Justice Department meetings about the Adani case, Giuffra presented arguments disputing evidence of the alleged bribery scheme. Giuffra also reportedly indicated that if prosecutors dropped the charges, Adani would be willing to invest $10 billion in the American economy.

A Justice Department spokesperson declined further comment beyond a letter from McCotter submitted to the court, stating he made the decision to dismiss the charges "after conducting numerous meetings with defense counsel" and reviewing "hundreds of pages of materials."

Judge Garaufis emphasized that under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 48(a), the government must "set forth the basis for its motion to dismiss," including reasons and factual support, which he found lacking in this case.

Sources