A United States (US) judge has seek more details from Gautam Adani on the Justice Department’s move to dismiss a blockbuster criminal case against him. US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in Brooklyn, New York, directed Adani to answer two questions in writing, under oath, by July 15.
The judge wrote, “1. Are you aware of anything promised, offered, sought, received, agreed to, or accepted, by anyone, in connection with the dismissal of the indictment?”
“2. Are you aware of any agreement exchanging anything for the dismissal of the indictment?”
Notably, in late 2024, Adani and others were accused by US prosecutors of a scheme to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to lock in solar energy contracts allegations he has consistently denied.
Federal prosecutors generally have wide discretion to drop criminal cases, and judges have little power to stop them.
Recently, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) has launched a sharp attack on officials who allegedly leaked details of its decision to drop criminal charges in the Adani-linked case, accusing them of forcing the government into publicly exposing the weaknesses in its own prosecution.
Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter had submitted that anonymous officials who leaked information to the media had acted “improperly and unethically” by attempting to influence judicial proceedings through press reports.