Adani prosecutor says DOJ made call to drop case, sidesteps agreement

U.S. authorities had accused Adani of agreeing to pay $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials so that Adani Green Energy could develop India's largest solar power plant. Adani is the founder and chairman of the Adani Group, which has consistently denied wrongdoing. Forbes on Friday valued him at $88.7 billion, 24th worldwide.

On Wednesday, Adani acknowledged in a sworn affidavit that he had offered earlier this year to invest $10 billion in the U.S. to resolve the criminal case and a related Securities and Exchange Commission civil case. His lawyer, Robert Giuffra, suggested the investment might be part of a settlement "if that was what the DOJ or SEC wanted." Giuffra is co-chairman of Sullivan & Cromwell and a personal lawyer to President Donald Trump.

Nocella said in a May 11 email, made public Wednesday, that he "categorically rejected" tying a settlement to any investment and that resolving the SEC case was a separate matter. In Friday's letter, Nocella said he sent that email and signed the May 18 motion to dismiss the criminal case "at the direction, or authorization, of Mr. McCotter."

McCotter said in his letter that he decided to dismiss the criminal case before any discussion of an Adani investment. Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani agreed to pay $18 million to resolve the SEC case. Adani Enterprises, one of his companies, agreed to pay $275 million to resolve a Treasury Department probe.

The dismissal is the latest in a series of high-profile cases dropped during Trump's second term. Judges have questioned the administration's willingness to end cases begun under Biden. Those include last year's dismissal of corruption charges against then-New York City Mayor Eric Adams and this month's SEC civil settlement with Elon Musk.

The judge has not yet ruled on the dismissal motion. His response to Nocella's letter will be the next development to watch.