U.S. prosecutors drop fraud charges against billionaire Indian businessman

AsiaU.S. prosecutors drop fraud charges against billionaire Indian businessman Gautam Adani, one of the world’s richest people, denied allegations that his company won a massive solar project by bribing Indian officials and then lied to U.S. investors about it.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani Group, last year. Indranil Aditya / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 18, 2026, 10:52 PM EDT / Updated May 18, 2026, 10:53 PM EDTBy Chloe AtkinsThe Department of Justice said Monday that it would drop its criminal fraud charges against billionaire Indian businessman Gautam Adani, marking a significant reversal in a high-profile case. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The Trump administration asked a federal judge to permanently throw out the indictment brought in 2024 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, saying it had “reviewed this case and has decided, in its prosecutorial discretion, not to devote further resources to these criminal charges against individual defendants,” according to the court filing.The request was signed by Trent McCotter, principal associate deputy attorney general, as well as Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella. It did not include signatures from line prosecutors assigned to the case. Adani, 63, founder and chairman of the Indian conglomerate Adani Group, was among multiple people Brooklyn prosecutors charged in November 2024 over a massive fraud and bribery scheme. He is estimated to be worth more than $100 billion and has gone back and forth with fellow business magnate Mukesh Ambani as the richest person in India as well as Asia. The government alleged that Adani and several co-defendants paid $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials so that Adani Green Energy, a subsidiary of Adani Group, would win approval to develop India’s largest solar power plant. The contracts were projected to generat...