Outlook Business Desk
Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group is under intense probe as top lenders like (SBI) and Yes Bank label its loan accounts as ‘fraud’. Investigating agencies suspect large-scale fund diversion, triggering (ED) and CBI action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
In August 2024, SEBI barred Anil Ambani and 24 others from the securities market for five years, citing a fraudulent scheme that diverted funds from Reliance Home Finance. The regulator also fined Anil Ambani ₹25 crore and stopped him from taking any top managerial or director role in listed companies.
The ED is probing Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group over alleged ₹17,000-crore loan fraud involving Reliance Home Finance, Reliance Commercial Finance, and Reliance Communications. Major lenders, including SBI, Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and HDFC Bank, are caught in the widening money-laundering investigation.
In November 2024, Canara Bank declared Reliance Communications’ ₹1,050-crore loan ‘fraudulent’, citing fund diversion and misuse. However, by July 2025, the bank reversed its classification decision, though suspicions over financial irregularities remain under the scanner.
State Bank of India in June 2025 and Bank of India in August 2025 declared Reliance Communications loans fraudulent. SBI’s exposure totalled ₹3,014 crore, while BOI flagged ₹724.78 crore over alleged fund diversion and non-repayment by Anil Ambani-led firms.
Meanwhile, Central Bank of India and Bank of Baroda followed suit in September 2025, flagging Reliance Communications’ accounts as fraud. Bank of Baroda cited fund misutilisation and unauthorised transactions, with total exposure of ₹2,463 crore, deepening Ambani’s financial crisis further.
In July 2025, the ED raided 35 locations linked to Anil Ambani’s group, recovering digital evidence and documents. ED alleged that shell firms like Biswal Tradelink Pvt Ltd handled fake guarantees and diverted funds through dummy directors and undisclosed accounts.
The CBI registered a case on August 21, 2025, accusing RCom and Ambani of defrauding SBI of ₹2,929 crore. In September 2025, the ED filed another money laundering case and attached group properties worth ₹3,084 crore across several Indian cities.
Investigative outlet Cobrapost alleged the Reliance Group siphoned ₹41,921 crore since 2006 through shell firms and offshore routes in Singapore, Mauritius, and the British Virgin Islands — marking one of India’s biggest corporate fraud allegations yet.