New Delhi: Ahmed Buhari, an NRI and former promoter and director of Coastal Energen Power Ltd, has secured a clean slate after an eight-year-long legal battle. A special court in Chennai on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) quashed all pending proceedings against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), reports the New Indian Express.Buhari’s legal battle began in 2018 with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence charging Coastal Energen of having supplied coal of “low calorific value” to public sector NTPC at inflated prices. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered an FIR alleging cheating under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.Thereafter, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated parallel proceedings under the PMLA, which involved allegations made against four entities including Coastal Energen. Buhari was arrested in March 2022 and spent 31 months behind bars, until he could secure bail in 2024. During this time and until the Tuesday order closing the pending cases, the investigation against him (and other accused) never reached a conclusion.However, Coastal Energen, which ran a 1,200-megawatt (2×600 MW) thermal power plant at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, effectively changed hands during the incarceration. Proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) were started against his company, which had reportedly fallen into distress.On February 13, 2024, an official press release announed that the Competition Commission of India had approved the acquisition of Coastal Energen by a consortium of private asset management company Dickey Alternative Investment Trust (DAIT) and Adani Power. The release said, “The proposed combination relates to the acquisition of 100% equity share capital of CEPL by the DAIT and APL.”On August 30, 2024, the Chennai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the consortium’s resolution plan, reported to be worth more than Rs 3,300 crore (for the secured lenders, who had approved the plan in December 2023).The following day, August 31, Adani Power completed its takeover of the still imprisoned Buhari’s company. The company announced the incorporation of Coastal Powergen with Moxie Power Generation Limited (MPGL), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of the consortium. “Upon implementation of all the conditions of the approved resolution plan, CEPL [Coastal Powergen] has been amalgamated with MPGL. Consequently, CEPL stands dissolved without winding up and without further act or deed and accordingly the SPV/MPGL shall continue to exist as the surviving entity,” Adani Power reportedly said in a regulatory filing.Buhari and other suspended directors of the company challenged the liquidation process, alleging irregularities. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had, on September 6, 2024, ordered status quo (an effective suspension) on the acquisition. It had put the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) in charge of affairs at Coastal Energen until the matter could be heard again.On September 12, 2024, after an urgent intervention filed by the DIAT-Adani consortium, the Supreme Court allowed the consoritum to operate the plant until until September 18, 2024, setting aside the NCLAT order putting the IRP in charge. The NCLAT was to hear the matter again on September 18. The Supreme Court also ordered numerous restrictions on the consortium even as it was put back in charge of Coastal Energen.Meanwhile, six bail applications filed by Buhari were opposed by the ED in courts, saying that the case required investigation of cross-border money trails in Mauritius, the UAE and elsewhere. At one point, the Madras High Court cancelled a bail he was granted by a special court, saying the lower court had not given a reasoned order for the relief.He was finally granted bail on October 24, 2024.On September 16, 2025, the Delhi High Court quashed the original FIR filed by the CBI against Buhari, citing lack of evidence to proceed with the investigation. When the original crime fell through, the ED case based on it also dissipated.Thereafter, on October 7, 2025, the Madras High Court quashed the PMLA prosecution, and on April 28, 2026, the special CBI court formally closed the remaining proceedings against him (and others involved in the case).However, the insolvency-related proceedings were continuing at the NCLAT as of February 2026, and remain sub judice.In an interview with Rediff.com on May 20, 2026, Buhari said, “I am confident of getting back the power plant – my baby. I have faith in the judicial system,” when asked by the interviewer, Venkatachari Jagannathan, if the NCLAT might set aside the acquisition of his company.The entire series of developments comes as a surprise because while the case was ongoing, investigators had alleged that Coastal Energen overvalued imported coal, which generated “proceeds of crime” worth more than Rs 564 crore, and that it had shell companies route these funds back to its power sector interests.The Coastal Energy takeover is similar to some other acquisitions by Adani over the last decade. Critics have pointed out that the group has rapidly expaned through acquiring stressed assets caught up in insolvency proceedings or regulatory hurdles. Krishnapatnam Port, Gangavaram Port and multiple airport assets had similarly triggered debate over the group’s consolidation strategies.The Adani Group has maintained that its acquisitions follow transparent commercial processes and are driven by business considerations.