A year later, Adani fraud case is in limbo

A year ago, the Department of Justice under President Joe Biden surprised India by indicting Gautam Adani, the country’s most prominent businessperson with personal ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on charges of wire and securities fraud.

- ALEX TRAVELLI SANTUL NERKAR

Gautam Adani in 2022. He was indicted two weeks after President Donald Trump won re-election, but the case has remained dormant.

(AFP)

Since then, there has been nearly nothing to show. The case against Mr Adani, whose indictment was announced Nov 20 last year, two weeks after President Donald Trump won reelection, has remained dormant on the federal docket.

While little has changed about the case, the relationship between the United States and India has shifted drastically under Trump. India’s archrival, Pakistan, is suddenly favoured in the White House. The United States imposed witheringly high tariffs on India’s exports, including a special penalty for India’s purchase of Russian oil. In addition, the Justice Department has flipped its personnel, its priorities and, according to lawyers who have left, its very purpose.

It's not just the five criminal charges against Mr Adani and seven of his colleagues that have stalled. The same is true for a civil complaint filed against them by the Securities and Exchange Commission.