Anil Ambani Summoned Again By ED Today Amidst Rs 40,000 Crore Bank Fraud Probe

BREAKING: Industrialist Anil Ambani has been summoned for the second consecutive day by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) today after facing hours-long questioning by the agency on Thursday as part of its ongoing investigation into alleged financial irregularities linked to loans exceeding ₹40,000 crore. The probe is being conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The investigation covers borrowings primarily linked to Reliance Communications and related group entities. At its peak, Reliance Communications had a consolidated debt burden of over ₹1.7 lakh crore before insolvency proceedings and asset monetisation efforts reduced liabilities. Multiple domestic lenders later classified parts of these loans as non-performing assets (NPAs), leading to forensic audits and fraud examinations.

The ED is examining whether portions of the borrowed funds, both from Indian and foreign lenders, were diverted across group companies or layered through complex financial structures.

₹13,558 Crore Exposure to Chinese State-Owned Banks

Documents accessed by Republic indicate that companies linked to Anil Ambani received funding from three major Chinese state-owned banks, with a total outstanding exposure of ₹13,558 crore.

The largest portion of the lending came from China Development Bank, which extended loans of about ₹9,134 crore to entities linked to Reliance ADA Group (RAAG). The Export-Import Bank of China sanctioned loans of approximately ₹3,048 crore, while the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China provided nearly ₹1,374 crore.

Combined, the total exposure from the three Chinese lenders stands at ₹13,558 crore. Loans from all three banks were contingent upon a Personal Guarantee.

The funding was routed to companies associated with the Reliance ADA Group, which has faced financial stress for several years. Several group entities have gone through insolvency proceedings, debt restructuring, or asset monetisation due to liquidity issues.

Internal letters accessed from August and October 2017 show that the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) had flagged a ₹7,932 crore default nearly a decade ago. One letter is dated 10 August 2017 and another 13 October 2017. Despite the account being classified as an NPA, Ambani reportedly did not respond to at least five formal notices from the Chinese lenders.

According to the documents, the lenders had already established the promoter’s personal liability for these large sums well before the current insolvency proceedings began.

SBI Loans and Personal Guarantee

Documents also show that credit facilities of ₹2,929 crore extended by the State Bank of India (SBI) to Reliance Communications (RCom) and Reliance Infratel (RITL) were made conditional on a Personal Guarantee executed by Ambani.

The guarantee was formalised through a deed in 2016. This arrangement made Ambani personally liable for the entire outstanding loan amount. As a result, the corporate insolvency of the entities does not remove his repayment obligation, since the personal guarantee creates a direct and binding link between his personal assets and the bank’s recovery process.

Assets Worth Over ₹15,000 Crore Attached

In recent enforcement actions, the ED has provisionally attached assets valued at over ₹15,000 crore at different stages of the probe. This includes Ambani’s Mumbai residence, ‘Abode’, and other corporate-linked properties.

Search operations have been carried out at multiple locations connected to group entities and former executives. Financial records, transaction trails and board-level approvals are among the documents under review.

The ED’s questioning of Ambani tomorrow is expected to focus on these loan transactions, personal guarantees, and the movement of funds across group companies as the investigation continues.