A United States federal judge on Monday formally dismissed criminal charges in a securities fraud case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani. This comes after the Judge Nicholas Garaufis asked prosecutors to explain why they wanted to drop the charges.However, the judge criticised senior US Justice Department official Trent McCotter’s conduct as “highly unusual” in the case.“The fact that McCotter came to this decision [to drop the charges] largely in collaboration with defense counsel, and seemingly without input from the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] and SEC [Securities Exchange Commission] agents who investigated the alleged misconduct, or [prosecutors] who brought the case, appears to be highly unusual,” he wrote.The Federal Bureau of Investigation is the main federal law enforcement agency in the US. The primary role of the Securities Exchange Commission is to enforce laws against market manipulation.In a court filing on July 4, McCotter said the case was primarily foreign, hard to prove and not in line with the department’s current priorities.Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and six others had been indicted in November 2024 in the final weeks of Joe Biden’s presidency by a federal grand jury in Brooklyn, New York.US prosecutors charged Adani with agreeing to bribe Indian government officials so that a subsidiary of his Adani Group could win approval to develop a solar energy plant. The prosecutors also alleged that the defendants made misleading statements about its anti-corruption practices while raising funds from US and international investors.The charges complicated Adani’s investment plans, particularly in the United States and threatened his ability to travel freely outside India. In November, a week before the charges were unsealed, Adani posted on X that his company would invest $10 billion in American energy projects and create up to 15,000 jobs.Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump. As the partnership between India and the United States deepens, the Adani Group is committed to leveraging its global expertise and invest $10 billion in US energy security and resilient infrastructure projects, aiming to create up to 15,000… pic.twitter.com/X9wZm4BV2u— Gautam Adani (@gautam_adani) November 13, 2024