Financial Frauds and the Fall of Anil Ambani's Empire: Inside the Reliance Group Probe

India's financial crime-fighting agency conducted searches at 35 locations linked to the Reliance Anil Ambani Group in connection with allegations of money laundering and diversion of public funds. A government source indicated that a scheme allegedly siphoned off bank loans from YES Bank totaling approximately 30 billion rupees, funneled through various shell companies.

Anil Ambani's company entities are accused of bribing YES Bank officials before loans were approved, violating the bank's standard procedures. Neither Reliance nor YES Bank immediately commented on the allegations. The investigation comes as numerous companies in Anil Ambani's group have declared bankruptcy since 2017, amid a major banking insolvency that saw YES Bank bailed out.

The probe further uncovered severe lapses in YES Bank's lending practices, including loans to financially weak companies and backdating contracts. YES Bank's past promoter, Rana Kapoor, faced legal charges for fraud in 2020. Regulatory casualties continue, impacting Reliance-owned firms, with market repercussions following capital market regulator SEBI's sanctions against Ambani in August 2024.

(With inputs from agencies.)