US Judge Orders Gautam Adani To File Sworn Affidavit By 15 July

A federal judge in Brooklyn has asked Gautam Adani to submit a sworn affidavit by 15 July.

In the filing, Adani must state whether he knows of any promise, offer, agreement or benefit linked to the US government's decision to withdraw the criminal charges against him.

The court wants this clarification before it decides on the US Justice Department's request to dismiss the indictment with prejudice, which would prevent the same charges from being filed again.

US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis issued the directive after a Justice Department filing raised, for the first time in the court's view, the possibility that some form of undisclosed arrangement may have existed in connection with the dismissal. Reports said Adani is expected to file the affidavit this week.

What The Judge Wants To Know

Before approving the government's dismissal request under Rule 48(a), Judge Garaufis said the court must be satisfied that the Justice Department's stated reasons are genuine and that no undisclosed agreement influenced the decision.

The judge added that Adani's lawyers had previously explained why the defendants consented to the dismissal motion but made no reference to any agreement, including one involving a commitment to invest in the United States.

What The Justice Department Said

Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General R Trent McCotter, who described himself as the final and sole decision-maker behind the dismissal, denied that the decision was linked to reports of Adani Group's plans to invest approximately $10 billion in the US.

McCotter gave several reasons for seeking dismissal:

• Most of the alleged conduct occurred in India.

• Indian authorities investigated the matter and found no actionable misconduct.

• Investors suffered no financial losses.

• Key evidence and witnesses were outside the United States.

• Defendants were unlikely to appear before a US court.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) charges no longer align with Trump administration enforcement priorities, which focus on US national security, American companies and transnational criminal organisations.

McCotter wrote that the securities fraud case was legally indefensible and that the FCPA charges should have been dismissed a year ago.

The Original Charges

The Justice Department under the Biden administration filed charges in 2024 accusing Adani and seven others of participating in a scheme to pay approximately $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy power supply contracts and of misleading investors while raising capital in US markets. Adani has denied all the allegations.

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