- SEBI has banned Anil Ambani and 24 other entities from the securities market for five years.
- The ban is due to allegations of fund diversion at Reliance Home Finance (RHFL), where Ambani, as former chairman, was found to have orchestrated a fraudulent scheme.
- SEBI’s 222-page order detailed that Ambani used his position and indirect shareholding in RHFL to siphon off funds disguised as loans to entities linked to him.
- SEBI also fined Ambani ₹25 crore and imposed penalties on other individuals and entities involved.
- The order highlighted that loans were given to companies with minimal assets or revenue, raising concerns about the legitimacy of these transactions.
- Despite the RHFL Board’s directives to stop these practices, the company’s management ignored them, leading to governance failures.
Supreme Court Decision:
- Earlier this year in April, the Supreme Court overturned an ₹8,000 crore arbitral award granted to a firm within Ambani’s group.
- This decision involved a concession agreement between Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt. Ltd. (DAMEPL), a Reliance Infrastructure subsidiary, and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
- The court ordered DAMEPL to refund approximately ₹3,300 crore previously paid.
Anil Ambani’s Financial Troubles:
- Anil Ambani’s financial decline has been ongoing. In February 2020, he declared bankruptcy in a UK court amid multiple legal and financial challenges.
- In 2008, Ambani was valued at $42 billion and ranked as the sixth richest person globally, but his fortunes have since sharply declined.
- Financial troubles worsened when his telecom venture, Reliance Communications (RCom), accumulated substantial debt and entered insolvency proceedings in 2019.
- That same year, Ambani faced legal pressure when the Supreme Court threatened to imprison him after RCom failed to pay ₹550 crore to Ericsson AB’s Indian unit.
- Mukesh Ambani, his brother, stepped in at the last minute to provide the necessary funds, preventing Anil Ambani’s imprisonment.