US judge dismisses criminal charges against Gautam Adani

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.