NEW DELHI– Bank of Baroda has classified the loan accounts of Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCom) and its former director Anil Ambani as “fraudulent,” marking the latest blow in the years-long financial and legal saga surrounding the collapsed telecom operator.
The state-run lender disclosed the move in a stock exchange filing on Thursday, saying the loans in question were issued before RCom entered corporate insolvency proceedings. The company has been undergoing resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) since June 2019.
RCom said the loans predate its insolvency process and must be addressed through a resolution plan or liquidation under the IBC framework. The company’s operations are currently overseen by resolution professional Anish Niranjan Nanavaty. Ambani, who once helmed the company, is no longer on the board.
A resolution plan for RCom has already been approved by creditors and is awaiting clearance from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The company said it is seeking legal advice on Bank of Baroda’s classification and stressed that during insolvency, it is protected from fresh legal action under IBC provisions.
The action comes as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigates alleged loan fraud tied to Ambani-linked firms, including Reliance Housing Finance, RCom, and Reliance Commercial Finance. Reports suggest the agency has asked a consortium of 12–13 banks for details on loans linked to these companies, with potential exposure estimated at nearly Rs 17,000 crore.
Bank of Baroda said it will notify regulators, including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in line with the central bank’s guidelines on fraud risk management for commercial banks and financial institutions.
This is the third major state-owned lender to flag RCom’s accounts as fraudulent in recent months. In June, the State Bank of India (SBI) did the same, followed by Bank of India in late August, which also named Ambani directly, citing alleged fund diversion and breaches of loan covenants.
Once one of India’s most prominent telecom players, Reliance Communications collapsed under mounting debt and intense competition, leaving behind one of the sector’s largest insolvency cases. The fraud classifications are expected to add further complications to its ongoing resolution. (Source: IANS)
