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Anil Ambani is taking legal advice on the order passed by SEBI which barred him from accessing the securities market for five years for alleged diversion of funds.
“Ambani is reviewing the Final Order dated 22 August 2024 passed by SEBI in the said matter, and will take appropriate next steps as legally advised,” said Ambani’s spokesperson.
Anomalies reported
According to the SEBI order, a fraudulent scheme was orchestrated by Ambani and administered by the key managerial persons of Reliance Home Finance (RHFL), to siphon off funds from the latter by structuring them as ‘loans’ to credit unworthy conduit borrowers, and onward borrowers, all of whom were ‘promoter-linked entities’.
A forensic audit conducted by Bank of Baroda, the lead bank of the consortium of lenders of RHFL, into its loan transactions showed indicated trends such as circular transactions and evergreening of loans.
The first report highlighted anomalies in the credit appraisal process of RHFL. About ₹12,574 crore was disbursed to potentially indirectly linked entities. The second report indicated that 100 loan cases amounting to ₹8,884.46 crore were still open and outstanding in the books of RHFL.
Meanwhile, Ambani’s group companies sought to distance themselves from the SEBI order. In a separate statement, Mumbai-listed Reliance Infrastructure Ltd said it “was not a noticee or party to the proceedings before SEBI in which the order is passed. No directions are given in the order against Reliance Infrastructure Ltd”.
“Ambani had resigned from the board of directors of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd pursuant to the interim order dated February 11, 2022, passed by SEBI in the same proceedings. Therefore, the order dated August 22, 2024 passed by SEBIhas no bearing whatsoever on the business and affairs of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd,” it said.
Reliance Power, the other listed company of Anil Ambani’s group, also issued a similar statement saying Ambani had resigned in 2022, and that the latest SEBI order has no bearing on it.
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