MUMBAI — India’s Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested former Reliance Communications Group Managing Director Amitabh Jhunjhunwala in connection with an alleged bank fraud case involving losses of more than 60.15 billion rupees to a consortium of lenders led by the State Bank of India.
Jhunjhunwala, who was a senior executive at Reliance Communications during the relevant period, oversaw key functions including corporate finance, banking and the use of company funds, according to a CBI statement issued Monday.
The agency alleged that Jhunjhunwala coordinated with senior bank officials to secure loans and advances for the company. Loan funds received from banks were allegedly managed or used by other Reliance Communications officials based on his directions. The CBI said the alleged misuse of loan funds caused wrongful losses to the banks.
According to the agency, Jhunjhunwala was instrumental in obtaining loans from several banks. The company later failed to repay the amounts, causing the accounts to become nonperforming assets. The CBI said Jhunjhunwala was taking instructions from the promoters of Reliance Communications Group companies.
The CBI registered the case based on a complaint from the State Bank of India against Reliance Communications Ltd. and Anil D. Ambani for allegedly causing a loss of 29.29 billion rupees to the bank.
Term loans had been sanctioned to Reliance Communications by a consortium of 11 banks led by SBI, which together allegedly suffered losses of 60.15 billion rupees. The complaint said the total exposure to RCom was 196.94 billion rupees across 17 public-sector banks.
The CBI has also registered six other cases against RCom, Reliance Home Finance Ltd., Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd. and Reliance Telecom Ltd. based on complaints filed by public-sector banks and Life Insurance Corporation of India. Those cases remain under investigation and are being monitored by the Supreme Court.
Jhunjhunwala was already in judicial custody in a separate case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate in Delhi and was lodged in Tihar Jail. To take him into custody in the RCom case, the CBI obtained production warrants from a special court in Mumbai.
Jail authorities referred Jhunjhunwala to AIIMS in New Delhi for a medical examination. After an AIIMS medical board declared him fit to travel, he was brought to Mumbai and produced in court on June 1.
The CBI then formally arrested him, and the arrest was recorded by the court. He was remanded to judicial custody in the RCom case and sent to Arthur Road Jail. The CBI’s request for police custody is scheduled to be heard Tuesday.
The agency filed its first chargesheet in the RCom case on May 29, 2026, naming 16 accused, including the company, five senior RCom executives and 10 bank officials. (Source: IANS)
