CBI Files Charges Against Anil Ambani in Bank Fraud Case

CBI Files Charges Against Anil Ambani in Bank Fraud Case

This chargesheet follows ongoing scrutiny of the industrialist, including CBI raids on premises linked to Anil Ambani, such as his Mumbai residence, in August.

By RMN News Service

NEW DELHI – The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed comprehensive chargesheets against industrialist Anil Ambani’s ADA Group and former Yes Bank CEO Rana Kapoor. The charges relate to alleged fraudulent transactions that resulted in a massive loss of ₹2,796 crore to Yes Bank. The CBI filed the chargesheet on Thursday (September 18).

The investigation targets two cases concerning alleged financial irregularities involving Anil Dhirubhai Group Companies, specifically Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) and Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL), Yes Bank, and entities owned by Rana Kapoor’s family. Ambani was cited as the Chairman of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and the Director of Reliance Capital Ltd., the holding company for RCFL and RHFL.

According to the investigation, the scheme was founded on an alleged conspiracy and a quid pro quo arrangement. The CBI asserts that Rana Kapoor allegedly abused his official position to channel substantial public funds from Yes Bank into financially stressed ADA Group Companies. This included Yes Bank investing approximately Rs. 2045 crores in non-convertible debentures and commercial debts of RCFL and Rs. 2965 crores in Non-Convertible Debentures and Commercial Papers of RHFL in 2017. Crucially, this approval was given by Kapoor despite CARE Ratings placing the ADA Group Financial Companies “under watch” due to deteriorating financial standing and adverse market assessment.

The investigation further suggests that the funds invested in RCFL and RHFL were subsequently siphoned off through multiple layers, demonstrating a systematic diversion of public money. In return, the ADA Group allegedly reciprocated by sanctioning and facilitating concessional loans and investments to entities controlled by Rana Kapoor’s family. This fraudulent arrangement allegedly involved Ambani facilitating credit facilities sanctioned from RCFL and RHFL at concessional rates for loss-making family entities of Kapoor—companies owned by his wife Bindu Kapoor and daughters Radha Kapoor and Roshani Kapoor. This caused a massive wrongful loss to Yes Bank.

In addition to Ambani and Kapoor, the CBI has also charge-sheeted Kapoor’s wife, Bindu Kapoor, and their daughters, Radha Kapoor and Roshni Kapoor. Other entities charged include RCFL, RHFL (now M/s Authum Investment and Infrastructure Ltd), RAB Enterprises Pvt Ltd, Imagine Estate Pvt Ltd, Bliss House Pvt Ltd, Imagine Habitat Pvt Ltd, Imagine Residence Pvt Ltd, and Morgan Credits Pvt Ltd. The chargesheets were filed under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The CBI also claimed that Reliance Nippon Mutual Funds, a subsidiary of Reliance Capital Ltd., allegedly invested Rs 1160 crore during 2017-18 in Non-Convertible Debentures of Morgan Credits Pvt Ltd, an entity owned by Rana Kapoor’s family. Furthermore, Reliance Nippon Mutual Funds allegedly purchased ADA Group Debentures worth Rs. 249.80 crores from Yes Bank and invested Rs. 1750 crore in unsecured debt instruments (AT1 Bonds) of Yes Bank, instruments described as high risk.

This chargesheet follows ongoing scrutiny of the industrialist, including CBI raids on premises linked to Anil Ambani, such as his Mumbai residence, in August. Those searches were part of an investigation into a separate alleged bank fraud case that sources indicate could involve up to Rs 17,000 crore, connected to an alleged fraud causing a loss of over Rs 2,000 crore to the State Bank of India (SBI) concerning Reliance Communications (RCom).

In the wider context of financial crime in India, an ongoing Corruption Perception Survey noted that 88% of people believe India is a corrupt country. Furthermore, 76% of respondents indicated that Indian corruption crime cases should be prosecuted in international courts, as 72% believe Indian courts are not effectively handling corruption cases.