Anil Ambani has assured the Supreme Court that he will remain in India as investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) continue into allegations of siphoning ₹40,000 crore from loans. The Supreme Court is overseeing probes into the alleged large-scale bank fraud involving Reliance Communications (RCom), its parent entities, and Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani.
The assurance was given to a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice Vipul M Pancholi, after concerns were raised by petitioner EAS Sarma's counsel, Prashant Bhushan, that Ambani might leave the country given the scale of the alleged fraud. The court stated, "We don't want any such thing to happen".
Ambani's counsel, Mukul Rohatgi, conveyed his client's commitment to remain in the country, stating he would not leave without the court's prior permission. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing both the CBI and ED, informed the court that a Look Out Circular (LOC) was already in place against Ambani to prevent any attempts to flee. Mehta cautioned Rohatgi, reminding him of a past instance where a similar undertaking was given on behalf of another client who subsequently fled the country. Rohatgi countered that Ambani's companies had repaid ₹20,000 crore to banks in the last three years, arguing that this action was inconsistent with an intention to flee.
The Supreme Court has directed the ED to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to ensure a thorough investigation into the alleged fraud. The CBI has been tasked with investigating potential collusion by bank officials in the alleged fraud. The court has expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of the investigations by both agencies, emphasizing the need for a swift and fair probe and requesting periodic updates on the progress of the investigation.
The ED initiated its investigation following a CBI FIR that named Anil Ambani, RCom, and others, alleging fraud, conspiracy, and corruption. The focus of the investigation is on loans totaling over ₹40,000 crore taken by RCom and its affiliates from Indian and foreign banks between 2010 and 2012, with five of these accounts having been declared fraudulent by the lending banks.
The Supreme Court has emphasized that each loan agreement represents a separate offense, even if the modus operandi is similar, and questioned the CBI's decision to register only one FIR based on SBI's complaint, consolidating similar complaints from other banks.