The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday searched premises linked to the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) in connection with an alleged bank loan fraud case in Mumbai.
Teams of CBI conducted the searches at two locations in Mumbai including the official premises of Reliance Communication Ltd., and residential premises of Anil D Ambani, the agency said in a statement.
The CBI registered an FIR on Thursday against Reliance Communication Ltd. (RCOM), Mumbai, its Director Anil D. Ambani, unknown public servants and unknown others on the basis of the complaint from the SBI, it said.
The searches took place at Ambani's residence 'Sea Wind' at Cuffe Parade in Mumbai, sources told PTI.
Ambani and RCom have been booked for allegedly committing offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, the CBI has said.
The case was filed on the allegations of defrauding the bank, and thereby causing wrongful loss of Rs 2929.05 crore to the bank, it said.
"It is alleged that the accused persons, in criminal conspiracy, misrepresented and got sanctioned credit facilities from SBI in favour of Reliance Communication Ltd," the CBI Spokesperson said.
She said it was also alleged that there was misutilisation and diversion of loan funds, potential routing of loan funds, inter-company loan transactions, misutilisation of sales invoice financing, discounting of bills of RCOM by Reliance Infratel Ltd., movement of funds through inter-company deposits among others.
Capital advances given to Netizen Engineering Pvt. Ltd. -- a group company of Reliance ADA Group -- were written off. Besides, fictitious debtors were created and written off, the agency has allegedly.
"The CBI obtained Search Warrants from the Court of Special Judge, CBI, Mumbai on August 22, 2025, and, in pursuance thereof, is conducting searches today (August 23, 2025) at two locations in Mumbai i.e. at the official premises of M/s Reliance Communication Ltd., and residential premises of Sh. Anil D Ambani," she said.
The action comes weeks after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned Ambani for nearly 10 hours on August 5 in a parallel money laundering probe related to loans taken by his group companies--Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL), Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL), and RCom.
Officials aware of the recent development told ET Bureau's Rashmi Rajput that the CBI’s action could be linked to a 2022 preliminary enquiry into loans sanctioned by Yes Bank to ADAG firms. That enquiry flagged possible corruption and misuse of office by Yes Bank’s arrested co-founder Rana Kapoor, and recommended FIRs against RCFL, RHFL, Kapoor and associated entities. The enquiry noted Kapoor cleared financial assistance without mandatory credit appraisals, approved proposals via email, and bypassed internal lending safeguards.
The ED’s wider case, built on inputs from the National Housing Bank, SEBI, the National Financial Reporting Authority, and Bank of Baroda, is probing a complex web of transactions between ADAG-linked entities and lenders. Investigators are examining loans extended by Yes Bank, Canara Bank and Bank of Baroda, along with a ₹2,850-crore investment by Reliance Mutual Fund in Yes Bank bonds, suspected to have involved quid pro quo arrangements.
Investigators have flagged patterns of alleged irregularities such as loan sanction and disbursal on the same day, funding of weak firms with common directors and addresses, evergreening of loans through onward lending, and diversion of about ₹3,000 crore between 2017 and 2019 into entities tied to Yes Bank promoters—suggesting possible kickbacks.
Separately, SEBI had earlier raised red flags over the sudden expansion of Reliance Home Finance’s corporate loan book, which nearly doubled from ₹3,742.6 crore in FY18 to ₹8,670.8 crore in FY19. The ED is also examining transactions at Reliance Infrastructure, which allegedly routed large inter-corporate deposits to an ADAG-linked company via an undisclosed related party not reflected in statutory filings.
Also Read: Anil Ambani denies allegations following CBI action in bank fraud case, says he was ‘singled out’
The statement added, “It is pertinent to note that SBI, by its own order, has already withdrawn proceedings against five other Non-Executive Directors. Despite this, Mr. Ambani has been selectively singled out.”
It further said, “At present, Reliance Communications is being managed under the supervision of a Committee of Creditors, led by SBI and overseen by a Resolution Professional. The matter remains sub judice, pending before the NCLT and other judicial forums, including the Hon’ble Supreme Court, for the past six years. Mr. Ambani has duly challenged SBI’s declaration before the competent judicial forum. Mr. Ambani strongly denies all allegations and charges, and will duly defend himself.”
Investigators are also examining the role of lenders in the sanctioning and monitoring of these loans. The ED has already made its first arrest, detaining Partha Sarathi Biswal of Biswal Tradelink Pvt Ltd for allegedly arranging a fake bank guarantee of ₹68 crore for a Reliance Group company.
The case also involves a payment of ₹5.40 crore made by Reliance Power to Biswal Tradelink after the latter submitted a forged bank guarantee in response to a Solar Energy Corporation of India tender. Officials said the company, set up in 2019, maintained multiple undisclosed bank accounts, used dummy directors, and carried out transactions disproportionate to its declared turnover.
Reliance Group has previously said that its companies acted in good faith and were victims of fraud and conspiracy.
Teams of CBI conducted the searches at two locations in Mumbai including the official premises of Reliance Communication Ltd., and residential premises of Anil D Ambani, the agency said in a statement.
The CBI registered an FIR on Thursday against Reliance Communication Ltd. (RCOM), Mumbai, its Director Anil D. Ambani, unknown public servants and unknown others on the basis of the complaint from the SBI, it said.
The searches took place at Ambani's residence 'Sea Wind' at Cuffe Parade in Mumbai, sources told PTI.
Ambani and RCom have been booked for allegedly committing offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, the CBI has said.
The case was filed on the allegations of defrauding the bank, and thereby causing wrongful loss of Rs 2929.05 crore to the bank, it said.
"It is alleged that the accused persons, in criminal conspiracy, misrepresented and got sanctioned credit facilities from SBI in favour of Reliance Communication Ltd," the CBI Spokesperson said.
She said it was also alleged that there was misutilisation and diversion of loan funds, potential routing of loan funds, inter-company loan transactions, misutilisation of sales invoice financing, discounting of bills of RCOM by Reliance Infratel Ltd., movement of funds through inter-company deposits among others.
Capital advances given to Netizen Engineering Pvt. Ltd. -- a group company of Reliance ADA Group -- were written off. Besides, fictitious debtors were created and written off, the agency has allegedly.
"The CBI obtained Search Warrants from the Court of Special Judge, CBI, Mumbai on August 22, 2025, and, in pursuance thereof, is conducting searches today (August 23, 2025) at two locations in Mumbai i.e. at the official premises of M/s Reliance Communication Ltd., and residential premises of Sh. Anil D Ambani," she said.
The action comes weeks after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned Ambani for nearly 10 hours on August 5 in a parallel money laundering probe related to loans taken by his group companies--Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL), Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL), and RCom.
Officials aware of the recent development told ET Bureau's Rashmi Rajput that the CBI’s action could be linked to a 2022 preliminary enquiry into loans sanctioned by Yes Bank to ADAG firms. That enquiry flagged possible corruption and misuse of office by Yes Bank’s arrested co-founder Rana Kapoor, and recommended FIRs against RCFL, RHFL, Kapoor and associated entities. The enquiry noted Kapoor cleared financial assistance without mandatory credit appraisals, approved proposals via email, and bypassed internal lending safeguards.
The ED’s wider case, built on inputs from the National Housing Bank, SEBI, the National Financial Reporting Authority, and Bank of Baroda, is probing a complex web of transactions between ADAG-linked entities and lenders. Investigators are examining loans extended by Yes Bank, Canara Bank and Bank of Baroda, along with a ₹2,850-crore investment by Reliance Mutual Fund in Yes Bank bonds, suspected to have involved quid pro quo arrangements.
Investigators have flagged patterns of alleged irregularities such as loan sanction and disbursal on the same day, funding of weak firms with common directors and addresses, evergreening of loans through onward lending, and diversion of about ₹3,000 crore between 2017 and 2019 into entities tied to Yes Bank promoters—suggesting possible kickbacks.
Separately, SEBI had earlier raised red flags over the sudden expansion of Reliance Home Finance’s corporate loan book, which nearly doubled from ₹3,742.6 crore in FY18 to ₹8,670.8 crore in FY19. The ED is also examining transactions at Reliance Infrastructure, which allegedly routed large inter-corporate deposits to an ADAG-linked company via an undisclosed related party not reflected in statutory filings.
Also Read: Anil Ambani denies allegations following CBI action in bank fraud case, says he was ‘singled out’
Anil Ambani’s response after raids
A spokesperson for Anil D. Ambani said on Saturday, “The search at Mr. Anil D. Ambani’s residence concluded early this afternoon. The complaint filed by State Bank of India (SBI) pertains to matters dating back more than 10 years. At the relevant time, Mr. Ambani was a Non-Executive Director of the company, with no involvement in the day-to-day management.”The statement added, “It is pertinent to note that SBI, by its own order, has already withdrawn proceedings against five other Non-Executive Directors. Despite this, Mr. Ambani has been selectively singled out.”
It further said, “At present, Reliance Communications is being managed under the supervision of a Committee of Creditors, led by SBI and overseen by a Resolution Professional. The matter remains sub judice, pending before the NCLT and other judicial forums, including the Hon’ble Supreme Court, for the past six years. Mr. Ambani has duly challenged SBI’s declaration before the competent judicial forum. Mr. Ambani strongly denies all allegations and charges, and will duly defend himself.”
ED's case against Anil Ambani
According to ED’s data, RHFL owes over ₹5,901 crore, RCFL more than ₹8,226 crore, and RCom close to ₹4,105 crore to a consortium of about 20 public and private sector banks, including Yes Bank, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Bank of India, UCO Bank and Punjab and Sind Bank.Investigators are also examining the role of lenders in the sanctioning and monitoring of these loans. The ED has already made its first arrest, detaining Partha Sarathi Biswal of Biswal Tradelink Pvt Ltd for allegedly arranging a fake bank guarantee of ₹68 crore for a Reliance Group company.
The case also involves a payment of ₹5.40 crore made by Reliance Power to Biswal Tradelink after the latter submitted a forged bank guarantee in response to a Solar Energy Corporation of India tender. Officials said the company, set up in 2019, maintained multiple undisclosed bank accounts, used dummy directors, and carried out transactions disproportionate to its declared turnover.
Reliance Group has previously said that its companies acted in good faith and were victims of fraud and conspiracy.
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