CBI alleges Rs 73K crore bank fraud in Anil Ambani group probe; ED flags IBC irregularities

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing bank loan frauds cumulatively worth Rs 73,000 crore in seven cases registered against the Reliance Anil Ambani Group, according to a status report filed in the Supreme Court in February.

The CBI informed the court that it is actively investigating seven cases and is probing the roles of certain public servants as well.

After reviewing the status report filed by the CBI and its financial investigations counterpart, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the apex court issued an order March 23.

“…the losses in the other cases also come to several thousands of crores, totalling claims of approximately Rs 73,006 crore,” the apex court order said, referring to the CBI probe.

A response from the Reliance Group to a query sent by PTI regarding this development is awaited.

The ED told the court that it seized certain documents that speak about a purported “Project Help”, indicating that insolvency proceedings were “deliberately” started through unrelated lenders.

“According to the report, all funding for IBC (insolvency and bankruptcy code) acquisitions was arranged through a group of eight NBFCs (non-banking financial companies) … It is noted that claims totalling approximately Rs 2,983 crore were settled for Rs 26 crore,” the SC said, after perusing the ED report.

The ED also informed the court that it has constituted a special investigation team to probe these cases and is currently working on eight cases related to the Reliance Anil Ambani Group (RAAG).