Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group Denies Cobrapost Allegations Of Fraud; Calls It ‘Deliberate Campaign Of Calumny, Disinformation’

Mumbai: Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group has issued a clarification strongly denying allegations of financial fraud levelled by Cobrapost, calling it a coordinated campaign to damage its reputation and attempt to manipulate stock prices.

In a detailed statement issued on the stock exchanges, the group said that the allegations levelled by the portal were based on recycled information that has already been scrutinised by various authorities, including the CBI, ED, and SEBI.

Citing that the Anil Ambani Group Companies, namely, Reliance Power and Reliance Infra, have witnessed heightened speculation and trader-driven volatility, the group further sought regulatory scrutiny into recent trading activity, amid allegations of a financial fraud exceeding Rs 41,921 crore.

Reliance Group's clarification came up after Cobrapost, in a report, made accusations against Anil Ambani's Reliance Group, claiming it has committed a massive ‘financial fraud of over Rs 41,921 crore by diverting funds from group companies since 2006’. The portal alleged that about Rs 28,874 crore raised through bank loans, IPO proceeds, and bonds were siphoned from listed Group firms to promoter-linked companies.

Earlier, Cobrapost's investigation claimed that the Reliance Group used dozens of pass-through entities and SPVs to divert funds, which were later written off, leaving all six key listed companies in financial distress.

The portal also alleged that the total diversion, including domestic and foreign, exceeded Rs 41,921 crore, routed via "dozens of pass-through entities, subsidiaries, shell companies and offshore vehicles" across jurisdictions such as the British Virgin Islands, Cyprus, Mauritius, Singapore, the US, and the UK.

Asserting that its findings are based on official filings and orders from regulators like the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, SEBI, and RBI, the ‘investigation’ claimed these actions violate multiple laws, including the Companies Act, FEMA, and PMLA, while also alleging the misuse of corporate funds for personal luxury purchases, such as a reported USD 20 million yacht, ultimately resulting in the financial distress of the Group's six key listed companies.

In response to the allegations, the Reliance Group has come out accusing Cobrapost of being a "dead platform resurrected", brought back to life by vested interests looking to acquire Reliance Group's assets at distressed prices. The group claimed that the allegations are based on "old, publicly available information" already examined by various authorities, including the CBI, ED, and SEBI.

The group pointed out specific assets that are allegedly being targeted, such as Delhi's power distribution company BSES Ltd, the Mumbai Metro project, and the 1,200 MW Rosa power project. Reliance Group's listed entities have filed complaints with SEBI, seeking an investigation into recent trading patterns in their shares.

The Reliance Group has also accused Cobrapost of attempting to engineer panic in the stock markets and benefit from them, calling the portal's move a "deliberate campaign of calumny, disinformation, and character assassination of Reliance Group, Anil Ambani, and 55 lakh shareholders aimed at crashing the stock prices, and engineering panic in stock markets to acquire Reliance Group assets".

The Anil Ambani-led group pointed out specific assets that are allegedly being targeted, such as Delhi's power distribution company BSES Ltd, the Mumbai Metro project, and the 1200 MW Rosa power project. Reliance Group's listed entities have filed complaints with SEBI, seeking an investigation into recent trading patterns in their shares.