Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn on Monday asked a judge to drop bribery-related charges against the Indian tycoon Gautam Adani, a decision with domestic and geopolitical ramifications that appeared to typify the transactional nature of the Justice Department under President Trump.
In a brief letter, prosecutors said they had decided “not to devote further resources” to the case against Mr. Adani and seven others. He had offered to invest $10 billion in the United States, while his lawyers had proposed a settlement of both the criminal matter and a parallel civil case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The S.E.C. announced that Mr. Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, would pay an $18 million fine on Thursday to resolve its case. Earlier on Monday, the Treasury Department announced that it had reached a $275 million settlement with Adani Enterprises Limited to resolve a separate investigation into whether Mr. Adani violated sanctions against Iran.
Robert J. Giuffra Jr., a lawyer for Gautam Adani, declined to comment, as did Timothy D. Sini, a lawyer for Sagar Adani.
The Justice Department did not cite the proposed $10 billion investment as a rationale for dropping the case. Justice Department officials had earlier told Mr. Giuffra, who has also acted as Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, that the proposal would play no role in the resolution of Mr. Adani’s criminal case, The New York Times reported last week.
The letter seeks to dismiss the case with prejudice, which would mean the charges cannot be brought again, and was signed by R. Trent McCotter, the principal associate deputy attorney general, and Joseph Nocella Jr., the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis must rule on the motion to formally dismiss the case.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
