New Delhi– The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday conducted raids at two locations in Mumbai, including the residence of industrialist Anil D. Ambani and the corporate offices of Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCOM), in connection with an alleged ₹2,929.05 crore bank fraud case involving the State Bank of India (SBI).
The raids followed a case registered by the CBI on August 21, based on a complaint by SBI’s Mumbai branch. The complaint accuses RCOM, its Director Anil Ambani, unnamed public servants, and others of criminal conspiracy, cheating, and causing a wrongful loss to the bank.
According to CBI officials, the accused allegedly misrepresented facts to fraudulently obtain credit facilities from SBI in favour of RCOM. The funds were then allegedly misused and diverted through complex financial transactions, including inter-company loans, inter-corporate deposits, and fictitious accounting.
Investigators pointed to several irregularities, including:
Misuse of sales invoice financing.
Discounting of RCOM bills by Reliance Infratel Ltd.
Routing of funds through group entities.
Write-off of capital advances extended to Netizen Engineering Pvt. Ltd., a Reliance ADA Group company.
Creation and subsequent write-off of fictitious debtors to disguise fund diversion.
A special CBI court in Mumbai had issued search warrants on August 22, authorising the raids that began early Saturday. “The searches are still ongoing,” the CBI said in an official statement.
This development comes shortly after Anil Ambani was questioned for nearly nine hours earlier this month by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a separate ₹17,000 crore loan fraud investigation.
The latest case marks one of the largest bank fraud probes involving a telecom company, reflecting growing regulatory scrutiny over corporate loan defaults and the misuse of public sector bank funds. (Source: IANS)
