CBI Probes Anil Ambani for Alleged Rs 1,085 Crore Bank Fraud

The CBI has launched an investigation against Anil Ambani and Reliance Communications for an alleged Rs 1,085 crore bank fraud, based on a complaint by Punjab National Bank. The FIR accuses the company of cheating PNB and the now-merged United Bank between 2013 and 2017, leading to significant financial losses.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has initiated a probe against prominent industrialist Anil Ambani and his firm Reliance Communications Limited, alongside its former director Manjari Ashok Kacker, over allegations of bank fraud exceeding Rs 1,085 crore. The case, filed on March 5, is based on a complaint from Punjab National Bank (PNB) by Santoshkrishna Annavarpu, Chief Manager at the bank's Stressed Assets Management Branch in Mumbai.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), the accused allegedly orchestrated schemes to deceitfully obtain credit facilities from PNB and the United Bank of India, now combined with PNB, resulting in undue losses totaling Rs 1,085.19 crore—from Rs 621.39 crore by PNB and Rs 463.80 crore by the former United Bank. These financial discrepancies reportedly occurred between 2013 and 2017.

The FIR stipulates that the accused entered a criminal conspiracy, misleading the banks into providing credit that was allegedly diverted and misused. As outlined in the complaint, the accounts were classified as non-performing assets in 2017 due to an alleged breach of financial discipline and violation of loan terms by the borrowers. Reports of a forensic audit by BDO India LLP in February 2021 confirmed suspicions of fund misdirection and transactions involving related parties, prompting the CBI to file charges under multiple Indian Penal Code sections and the Prevention of Corruption Act.