New Delhi53 minutes ago
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The Supreme Court on Friday issued new notices in the ongoing bank fraud case against Anil Ambani. These notices have been issued after hearing the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the court.
The PIL demands a court-monitored investigation into the Rs 1.5 lakh crore banking and corporate fraud against Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and its companies. On this, the court has sought a sealed status report within 10 days from CBI and ED on the ongoing investigation against Ambani.
5 big things about the hearing
- Last warning to Ambani group: A bench of Chief Justice (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Jaimala Bagchi noted that notices had been served earlier also, but now the Registrar General of the Bombay High Court has been asked to personally ensure that the notices reach Anil Ambani.
- Deadline to investigating agencies: The court has ordered CBI and ED to file the ‘status report’ of their investigation within the next 10 days. This report will be given in a sealed envelope.
- Serious allegations of Prashant Bhushan: Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner (former IAS EAS Sarma), called it the “biggest corporate fraud in the history of India”. He claimed that this fraud was going on since 2007-08, but the FIR was registered only in 2025.
- Collusion of bank officials: Bhushan alleged that the investigating agencies were not probing the bank officials who allegedly helped the Anil Ambani Group in diverting the funds.
- Misappropriation of funds: The petition alleges that public funds were systematically misused and financial statements were manipulated.
Property worth Rs 10,117 crore has been seized in the bank fraud case. This also includes Anil Ambani’s Pali Hill house.
Allegations of fraud in PIL
The PIL said that the CBI FIR of August 21 and the ED proceedings cover only a small part of the fraud. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for CBI and ED, sought time to file the status report.
In the last hearing, the bench had sought reply from the parties within three weeks. The PIL was posted for hearing after three weeks.
Property worth Rs 10,117 crore seized in fund diversion case
Earlier in November, ED has so far seized assets worth Rs 10,117 crore against the group. According to ED, in the latest action, 18 properties including Reliance Center located in Ballard Estate, Mumbai, fixed deposits (FD), bank balances and unlisted investments have been temporarily attached.
Along with this, 7 properties of Reliance Infrastructure, 2 of Reliance Power and 9 of Reliance Value Services have also been frozen. The ED has also attached FDs and investments of other group companies, including Reliance Venture Asset Management Pvt Ltd and Fi Management Solutions Pvt Ltd.
Investigation reveals misuse of funds
ED has found in its investigation that there was large-scale misuse of funds in Reliance Home Finance (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance (RCFL). Between 2017 and 2019, Yes Bank had invested Rs 2,965 crore in RHFL and Rs 2,045 crore in RCFL.
But by December 2019, these amounts became non-performing assets (NPA). Rs 1,353 crore of RHFL and Rs 1,984 crore of RCFL are still outstanding. Overall, Yes Bank suffered a loss of more than Rs 2,700 crore.
According to ED, these funds were diverted to other companies of Reliance Group. Many irregularities were also found in the loan approval process. For example, some loans are applied for, approved and disbursed on the same day. Field checks and meetings were skipped. Documents found blank or dateless.
ED has called it ‘intentional control failure’. The investigation is going on under Section 5(1) of PMLA and attachment orders were issued on 31 October 2025.
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