The Supreme Court of India has advised the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe an alleged large-scale bank fraud involving companies linked to industrialist Anil Ambani. The court emphasised that ongoing investigations must be pursued to their logical conclusion. In addition, the bench directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to examine the conduct of bank officials connected to the matter. The case relates to multiple Reliance Group entities under scrutiny for alleged financial irregularities.

The matter concerns the affairs of Reliance Communications (RCOM), Reliance Commercial Finance (RCFL), Reliance Home Finance (RHFL), and Reliance Power (RPOWER). The ED informed the court that investigations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) are currently underway. The agency is also conducting a broader probe into the financial dealings of the group entities. Officials indicated that multiple lending transactions and fund flows are being examined.

According to submissions placed on record, RHFL allegedly borrowed public funds from 33 banks and financial institutions and defaulted on ₹7,523.46 crore. Of this amount, lenders have reportedly recovered ₹2,116.28 crore. This leaves a net default of ₹5,407.18 crore, which the ED has described as constituting “proceeds of crime". The agency told the court that the figures form part of its ongoing money-laundering investigation.

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In the case of RCFL, 21 financial institutions were allegedly defrauded to the tune of ₹6,280.57 crore. With regard to RCOM, the total outstanding amount stands at ₹40,185.55 crore, which the ED similarly characterised as proceeds of crime. The court’s directions are expected to intensify the multi-agency probe into the financial affairs of the group. Further developments will depend on the findings of the proposed SIT and the parallel CBI examination of bank officials.

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