NEW DELHI– The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday searched the Mumbai residence of industrialist Anil D. Ambani and the offices of Reliance Communication Ltd. (RCOM) in connection with an alleged Rs 2,929.05 crore bank fraud.
The case, registered on August 21 following a complaint from the State Bank of India (SBI), names RCOM, its director Anil Ambani, unidentified public servants, and others as accused of cheating the bank and causing a wrongful loss.
According to CBI officials, the accused allegedly conspired to misrepresent facts to secure credit facilities from SBI in RCOM’s favor. The funds were then diverted through inter-company loan transactions, inter-corporate deposits, and other channels.
Investigators highlighted irregularities including misuse of sales invoice financing, discounting of RCOM bills by Reliance Infratel Ltd., diversion of funds through group entities, and the write-off of capital advances to Netizen Engineering Pvt. Ltd., a Reliance ADA Group company. Officials also pointed to the creation of fictitious debtors that were later written off to conceal the diversion of funds.
The charges under probe include criminal conspiracy, cheating, and criminal breach of trust. A special CBI court in Mumbai issued warrants on August 22 authorizing Saturday’s raids.
“The searches are still continuing,” the CBI said in a statement.
Earlier this month, Ambani underwent a nine-hour interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate in New Delhi over a separate alleged Rs 17,000-crore loan fraud case.
The investigation marks one of the largest bank fraud probes against an Indian telecom company, underscoring growing regulatory scrutiny of corporate borrowing practices. (Source: IANS)
