Adani Case: US DoJ Attorney To Step Down On Jan 10

New Delhi: The US Department of Justice’s (DoJ) indictment of Adani Group officials in an alleged bribery case is ‘extremely flimsy’, senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani said on Friday, as Breon Peace, the US Attorney behind the case, announced his resignation.

According to reports, Brooklyn US Attorney Peace, who presented charges against Adani Group officials, has announced to step down on January 10, just days away from Donald Trump’s inauguration as the next US President on January 20.

53-yr-old Peace, who was appointed by outgoing US President Joe Biden in 2021, will be replaced by First Assistant US Attorney Carolyn Pokorny.

“The Adani case in US court was already a very diluted case. There was no evidence or basis to the indictment. The uproar by the Opposition over the issue in the Indian Parliament is baseless,” Jethmalani was quoted as saying in media reports.

Peace’s resignation was on expected lines as he was likely to be asked by the next US administration under Trump to step down. Peace’s tenure included high-profile cases such as singer R Kelly’s trial for sex-trafficking, a fraud indictment of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and the criminal conviction of a US Congressman.

Last week, Adani stocks gained following the news of FBI Director Chris Wray resigning from office early next year after the US President-elect replaced him with Kash Patel.