Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, chairman of the Reliance Group and younger brother of Mukesh Ambani, is facing significant legal and financial challenges due to multiple allegations of fraud and financial mismanagement by the CBI.
Where did it all start?
It all began between the years 2017 & 2019, when Yes Bank’s CEO, Rana Kapoor, sanctioned unsecured loans worth over ₹3,000 crore to several of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group companies.
Shortly before the loans were sanctioned, Ed says that Yes Bank’s promoters received payments in their private bank accounts from Reliance Company. Ed says these loans to Anil Ambani’s Reliance group of companies were shady from the first instance. This loan money from Yes Bank was illegitimately diverted to shell companies illegally and fraudulently.
ED’s probe also shows that loans were given to companies with poor financial backgrounds, entities that had common directors and addresses and instances of loan evergreening.
What is Loan Evergreening?
It is a practice whereby banks or financial institutions extend fresh loans to a borrower in order to repay existing debt.
Rules and Regulations by RBI to curb Loan Evergreening
- If a bank or financial institution (a regulated lender) has invested in an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF), and that AIF then invests money in a company that owes money to the same lender (a debtor company), the lender must pull out its money from the AIF within 30 days.
- If the lender cannot take the money out within 30 days, it must treat the entire investment as a loss (100% provision) in its books.
- This rule applies whether the AIF invests directly in the debtor company or indirectly (like through another layer) within the last 12 months.
- If a lender has invested in the riskier subordinated units of an AIF that follows a priority distribution model (where some investors get paid first, and others later), then the lender must deduct the full amount of that investment from its capital.
Rana Kapoor–Anil Ambani Nexus
The case forms part of a broader probe into Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor, who is already jailed under money-laundering charges.
- Kapoor is accused of striking deals with several corporates, including the Reliance ADA Group, in exchange for financial favours.
- Investigators claim that Kapoor personally facilitated loans to Ambani’s entities even when risks were flagged by internal committees.
ED Probe: ₹17,000 Crore Alleged Diversion
The ED widened its investigation in July–August 2025, covering alleged fraud across multiple Reliance ADA Group companies.
- The ₹3,000 crore Yes Bank loan forms part of a larger suspected fraud of nearly ₹17,000 crore.
- Probes revealed possible forged guarantees, fictitious transactions, and money laundering through shell firms to siphon off bank funds.
- Ambani was summoned and questioned on August 5, 2025, for over eight hours by the ED in Mumbai, specifically about the Yes Bank loans.
CBI Raids and SBI Complaint Link
While the Yes Bank matter is under ED scrutiny, the CBI’s recent FIR against Ambani stems from a State Bank of India complaint about RCom loans (₹2,929 crore). However, investigators stress that both cases overlap, since:
- The modus operandi of alleged fraud: loan diversion, fake accounting, and misuse of funds, is similar.
- Yes Bank’s exposure is being probed in parallel, with the possibility of the CBI filing a separate FIR specifically on Yes Bank loans.
This case is shaping into one of India’s most high-profile corporate investigations, with implications across banking, legal oversight, and corporate governance.
