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US Judge Dismisses Adani Fraud Case – But Slams DOJ’s “Highly Unusual” Conduct

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US Judge Dismisses Adani Fraud Case – But Slams DOJ’s “Highly Unusual” Conduct

A federal judge has dismissed criminal charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, after the Justice Department abandoned a high-profile fraud and bribery prosecution. But in a scathing 47-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis sharply criticized the department’s “highly unusual” handling of the case, calling the irregularities “concerning” and questioning the conduct of a senior Trump-appointed official.

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The Dismissal

On Monday, August 10, 2026, Brooklyn-based U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis granted the Justice Department’s request to dismiss criminal charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani. The charges, brought in late 2024, alleged that Adani had agreed to bribe Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts and then misled U.S. investors about the company’s anti-corruption practices. The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought again.

The Scathing Criticism

Despite granting the dismissal, Judge Garaufis delivered a devastating critique of how the Justice Department reached its decision. He reserved judgment on two of the five counts against five other co-defendants, citing procedural failures by the DOJ.

Garaufis zeroed in on Trent McCotter, the Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, who he said bore sole responsibility for the decision to drop the case.

“The irregularities in the decision to dismiss the indictment are concerning,” Garaufis wrote. “McCotter appears to have eschewed the professional opinions of innumerable officials from various federal offices and replaced them with his singular judgment.”

The judge noted that McCotter made the decision “largely in collaboration with defense counsel” and seemingly “without input from the FBI and SEC agents who investigated the alleged misconduct”. He also dismissed McCotter’s claim that the indictment was politically motivated, writing that the assertion was “unbecoming of his office” and “inconsistent with this court’s experience”.

The $10 Billion Question

Garaufis had previously questioned whether Adani’s November 2024 pledge to invest $10 billion in the United States and create 15,000 jobs had influenced the Justice Department’s decision. The pledge was announced in a social media post congratulating Donald Trump on his election victory. Reports later surfaced that Adani’s lawyers had raised the investment during discussions with the Justice Department about the case.

Ultimately, Garaufis said he was satisfied that the investment pledge did not factor into the decision. However, he added that the public could draw its own conclusions about how such discussions might affect perceptions of equal justice.

The Background

The Justice Department announced in May 2026 that it would drop the charges, arguing that much of the alleged conduct had taken place outside the U.S., making the case difficult to prosecute, and that it no longer aligned with department priorities. The request came after Adani hired a new legal team led by Robert J. Giuffra Jr., a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell and a personal lawyer to President Donald Trump. Giuffra met with DOJ officials earlier this year to raise concerns about the case.

Judge Garaufis initially resisted the government’s request, ordering officials to provide more information. But on Monday, he ultimately granted the dismissal while making clear his disagreement with the process.

The Reaction

Adani welcomed the decision, posting on X: “I welcome the U.S. Court’s decision with humility and deep respect for the judicial process. Throughout this challenging period, our faith in truth, fairness and the rule of law remained unwavering”.

The Justice Department has not commented on the judge’s criticism, but a spokesperson pointed to a July filing in which McCotter defended his decision.

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Adani-Anklage fallen gelassen – Richter verurteilt “höchst ungewöhnliches” Verhalten des DOJ

Ein Bundesrichter hat die strafrechtlichen Anklagen gegen den indischen Milliardär Gautam Adani fallen gelassen, nachdem das US-Justizministerium die hochkarätige Betrugs- und Bestechungsanklage aufgegeben hatte. In einer vernichtenden 47-seitigen Entscheidung kritisierte Richter Nicholas Garaufis jedoch das “höchst ungewöhnliche” Vorgehen des Ministeriums scharf, bezeichnete die Unregelmäßigkeiten als “besorgniserregend” und stellte das Verhalten eines hochrangigen, von Trump ernannten Beamten in Frage.

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Die Einstellung des Verfahrens

Am Montag, dem 10. August 2026, gab der in Brooklyn ansässige US-Bezirksrichter Nicholas Garaufis dem Antrag des Justizministeriums statt, die strafrechtlichen Anklagen gegen den indischen Milliardär Gautam Adani und seinen Neffen Sagar Adani fallen zu lassen. Die im Spätherbst 2024 erhobenen Anklagen warfen Adani vor, indische Regierungsbeamte bestochen zu haben, um Aufträge für Solarenergie zu erhalten, und dann US-Investoren über die Anti-Korruptionspraktiken seines Unternehmens getäuscht zu haben. Der Fall wurde mit endgültiger Wirkung eingestellt, was bedeutet, dass er nicht wieder aufgenommen werden kann.

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Die vernichtende Kritik

Obwohl Richter Garaufis der Einstellung zustimmte, übte er scharfe Kritik an der Art und Weise, wie das Justizministerium zu seiner Entscheidung gelangt war. Er behielt sich das Urteil über zwei der fünf Anklagepunkte gegen fünf andere Mitangeklagte vor und verwies auf Verfahrensfehler des DOJ.

Garaufis konzentrierte sich auf Trent McCotter, den Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, der seiner Meinung nach die alleinige Verantwortung für die Entscheidung zur Fallaufgabe trug.

“Die Unregelmäßigkeiten bei der Entscheidung, die Anklage fallen zu lassen, sind besorgniserregend”, schrieb Garaufis. “McCotter scheint die fachlichen Meinungen unzähliger Beamter verschiedener Bundesbehörden außer Acht gelassen und durch sein eigenes Urteil ersetzt zu haben.”

Der Richter stellte fest, dass McCotter die Entscheidung “weitgehend in Zusammenarbeit mit der Verteidigung” getroffen und dies scheinbar “ohne die Beteiligung des FBI und der SEC-Beamten, die das mutmaßliche Fehlverhalten untersucht hatten” , getan habe. Er wies auch McCotters Behauptung zurück, die Anklage sei politisch motiviert gewesen, und schrieb, diese Behauptung sei “seines Amtes unwürdig” und “nicht mit den Erfahrungen dieses Gerichts vereinbar” .

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Die 10-Milliarden-Dollar-Frage

Garaufis hatte zuvor in Frage gestellt, ob Adanis Ankündigung vom November 2024, 10 Milliarden Dollar in den USA zu investieren und 15.000 Arbeitsplätze zu schaffen, die Entscheidung des Justizministeriums beeinflusst habe. Die Zusage war in einem Social-Media-Beitrag zur Gratulation Donald Trumps zu dessen Wahlsieg angekündigt worden. Später wurde berichtet, dass Adanis Anwälte die Investition bei Gesprächen mit dem Justizministerium über den Fall ins Spiel gebracht hatten.

Letztlich erklärte Garaufis, er sei überzeugt, dass die Investitionszusage bei der Entscheidung keine Rolle gespielt habe. Er fügte jedoch hinzu, dass die Öffentlichkeit ihre eigenen Schlüsse daraus ziehen könne, wie solche Gespräche die Wahrnehmung der Gleichbehandlung vor dem Gesetz beeinflussen könnten.

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Der Hintergrund

Das Justizministerium hatte im Mai 2026 angekündigt, die Anklage fallen zu lassen, mit der Begründung, dass ein Großteil des mutmaßlichen Fehlverhaltens außerhalb der USA stattgefunden habe, was die Strafverfolgung erschwere, und dass der Fall nicht mehr mit den Prioritäten des Ministeriums übereinstimme. Der Antrag erfolgte, nachdem Adani ein neues Anwaltsteam unter der Leitung von Robert J. Giuffra Jr. , einem Partner bei Sullivan & Cromwell und persönlichem Anwalt von Präsident Donald Trump, engagiert hatte. Giuffra hatte sich Anfang des Jahres mit DOJ-Beamten getroffen, um Bedenken hinsichtlich des Falls zu äußern.

Richter Garaufis hatte dem Antrag der Regierung zunächst widerstanden und die Beamten aufgefordert, weitere Informationen vorzulegen. Am Montag gab er der Einstellung jedoch schließlich statt, machte aber seine Meinungsverschiedenheit mit dem Verfahren deutlich.

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Die Reaktion

Adani begrüßte die Entscheidung und postete auf X: “Ich begrüße die Entscheidung des US-Gerichts mit Demut und tiefem Respekt vor dem Justizsystem. In dieser herausfordernden Zeit ist unser Glaube an Wahrheit, Fairness und die Herrschaft des Rechts unerschütterlich geblieben.”

Das Justizministerium hat sich nicht zu der Kritik des Richters geäußert, aber ein Sprecher verwies auf eine Einreichung vom Juli, in der McCotter seine Entscheidung verteidigt hatte.

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FBI – FBI in Montana Bozeman Fraud Case Shows ‘It’s Not a Small World’

Bozeman sign
An Internet fraud scam uncovered in Bozeman in 2009 reached victims as far afield as Florida and Texas.


FBI in Montana
Bozeman Fraud Case Shows ‘It’s Not a Small World’

Special Agent Greg Rice asked questions and scribbled notes as the woman on the phone detailed why she thought she was being scammed.

Did she have records, receipts, account numbers? Was she still on good terms with the suspected scammer? From the moment he picked up the phone in the Bozeman Resident Agency, Rice was laying the groundwork for a potential case. A day earlier, he took two similar calls.

map of field officesField Offices and Resident Agencies

The FBI has 56 field offices centrally located in major metropolitan areas across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Each field office is overseen by a special agent in charge, except our offices in Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington, D.C., which are headed by an assistant director in charge due to their large sizes. Within these field offices are a total of about 400 resident agencies located in smaller cities and towns. Resident agencies are managed by supervisory special agents.

 

“A lot of my time is dedicated to working fraud,” says Rice, who was an agent in Las Vegas for eight years before moving to Bozeman six years ago. “We don’t take everything that comes in the door. But there’s a lot to choose from.”

In resident agencies, which are slimmed-down satellites of the Bureau’s 56 field offices, case agents are the face of the FBI for local police departments, community leaders, and the public. In the smaller offices like Rice’s in Bozeman—an affluent college town surrounded by farms, ranches, and retired millionaires—agents field complaints of all stripes and vet which ones cross the threshold for federal involvement. One such case, an Internet fraud scam in 2009 that reached victims as far afield as Florida and Texas, illustrates how complaints like the phone calls Rice picked up in early July can bloom into full-blown investigations.

In that case, a woman in Florida called Rice to report that she sent $225,000 to a Bozeman man who claimed he had a stockpile of unrefined gold and was looking for investors to finance refineries. He promised big returns. When that didn’t materialize, the investor got suspicious.

“She became angry over the investment and called us,” Rice says. When he followed the money and confirmed their suspect, Carl Estep, wasn’t putting his investors’ money where he’d promised, Rice set up a sting. Only this time, he would play the patsy. Working with a female FBI agent from the Billings resident agency, Rice staged a ruse to pose as husband-and-wife investors who wanted a piece of Estep’s venture. They set up a meeting at the airport in Bozeman to make it seem as though they had just arrived from Chicago.

Epilogue When investors didn’t see their promised returns, Carl Estep made elaborate excuses as to why they could not be paid.

In reality, Estep did not own any refineries. He did not own the barrels of rock and sand. He did not make any expenditures to develop refineries, and he did not invest money overseas. He simply used the money for numerous personal expenditures, including cars, overseas travel, daily expenses, and unreasonably large expenses on his hunting dogs.

In speaking with FBI agents, Estep acknowledged that he spent investor money on personal items and his that statements to investors were not 100 percent true since they did not know their money was used for his personal gain.

– Press release

“We came off the plane, we met him, and we sat down in the coffee shop,” Rice says. “I wore a camera and a wire—and he pitched the whole deal to me, the exact same deal that he pitched to the victim.”

It didn’t end there, though. Estep then escorted the would-be investors to a warehouse where he showed them stacks of barrels that he claimed each contained about 1,200 ounces of unrefined gold.

“It was the exact same pattern as what he did with these other people,” Rice says. “He flew them out here. He took them to the warehouse. He showed them the barrels stacked up. All he’d done was get his hands on a bunch of barrels with gravel in them. The rest was easy for him.”

The FBI tested samples from the barrels—which didn’t contain gold—and identified more victims, including the provider of the warehouse. Confronted with the evidence, Estep pleaded guilty in January and is now serving a four-year sentence.

“It’s not a small world for us anymore,” says Rice, an Idaho native, describing how even this once-remote area is no longer so, due in part to the Internet.