Is Donald Trump government corrupt? Well, they just dropped fraud charges against a billionaire, and get this – he isn’t even American

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have asked a judge to drop bribery-related charges against the Indian tycoon Gautam Adani. This decision not only has significant geopolitical and domestic ramifications, but it also appears to highlight the transactional nature of the Justice Department under President Trump. In a brief letter, prosecutors stated they had decided “not to devote further resources” to the case against Mr. Adani and seven others.

When the Justice Department indicted India’s richest man in the final weeks of the Biden administration, prosecutors described an “elaborate” bribery scheme involving “corruption and fraud at the expense of U.S. investors.” Per the New York Times, the case was one of the most ambitious white-collar prosecutions in recent years, so seeing it dropped at such an early stage is definitely strange. At least until you see the whole picture.

The reversal began after the Indian billionaire hired a new legal team led by Robert J. Giuffra Jr. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he is one of Trump’s personal lawyers. Giuffra’s efforts led to a presentation of 100 slides in Washington last month. In it, Giuffra outlined why prosecutors supposedly lacked basic evidence and the jurisdiction to even bring the case.

Then came the deal closer, aka, the bribe

One of those slides suggested that if prosecutors dropped the charges, Mr. Adani would be willing to invest $10 billion in the American economy and create 15,000 jobs. This echoed a pledge Mr. Adani had made back in November 2024, shortly after Mr. Trump’s election. At that time, Mr. Adani wrote that Trump was an “embodiment of unbreakable tenacity, unshakable grit, relentless determination and the courage to stay true to his beliefs.”

Now, per NYT,  the Justice Department did not cite the proposed $10 billion investment as a rationale for dropping the case. Additionally, officials had earlier told Mr. Giuffra that the proposal would play no role in the resolution of the criminal case. However, the timing is hard to ignore. 

After all, the proposal is something that Mr. Trump could have held up as a political and economic win. It also gives the theory that this is a transaction a lot of credence. 

Recently, under Trump, the Justice Department has shifted away from prosecuting crimes like public corruption and foreign bribery. Instead, the administration’s focus is completely on immigration offenses. 

If you need further confirmation, we’ve seen this pattern before. For example, just look at the situation when the Justice Department decided to end its prosecution of Eric Adams, the former mayor of New York City. 

They had struggled with prosecutors in that case. After it happened, several federal prosecutors in Manhattan resigned in protest of a deal they saw as a quid pro quo.

Even with the criminal charges against Mr. Adani being dismissed, he isn’t walking away completely unscathed. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Mr. Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, would pay an $18 million fine to resolve its civil case. 

Additionally, the Treasury Department is preparing to impose a penalty of its own. This will potentially amount to $275 million to resolve a separate investigation into whether Mr. Adani violated sanctions against Iran.

The original indictment, secured in late 2024, charged Mr. Adani with securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy. Prosecutors alleged that he and his associates orchestrated a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure solar contracts. They also accused the defendants of lying about this bribery scheme while trying to raise money from American investors.

It is worth noting that the Justice Department’s letter seeking to dismiss the case with prejudice 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 now rule on the motion to formally dismiss the case.

This whole situation reflects a broader retreat from foreign bribery cases within the administration. Last year, the Justice Department dismissed a case against former executives of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. following an executive order from President Trump that paused enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. 

That order criticized the law for criminalizing “routine business practices in other nations.” It’s a massive shift in priorities, and for those watching how the government handles international corporate accountability, it’s a development that’s impossible to miss. 

Regardless of the outcome, the fact that a billionaire facing such serious charges could secure a path to dismissal through a meeting with high-level officials and a promise of investment is a striking break from past norms.