CBI books Anil Ambani’s son, Reliance Home Finance in ₹228-crore bank fraud case

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday registered a criminal case against Jai Anmol Anil Ambani, his firm Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL), and former RHFL director Ravindra Sharad Sudhakar.

The action follows a complaint by Union Bank of India (formerly Andhra Bank), alleging wrongful loss amounting to ₹228 crore.

According to the bank, RHFL had availed credit facilities totalling ₹450 crore from its SCF branch in Mumbai. The loan agreement mandated timely repayment, servicing of interest, submission of security documentation, and routing of sale proceeds through the bank.  

However, RHFL allegedly failed to repay the dues, and the account was tagged as a non-performing asset (NPA) on September 30, 2019.

A forensic audit conducted by Grant Thornton covering April 2016 to June 2019 reportedly found significant misappropriation of the borrowed funds.

The bank has accused the company and its directors of “fraudulent misappropriation,” diversion of funds, and criminal breach of trust — claiming that the money was siphoned off for purposes other than those for which the loan was sanctioned.

"The accused persons in their capacity of erstwhile promoters /directors of the borrower Company committed fraudulent misappropriation of funds through manipulation of accounts and criminal breach of trust and diverted/siphoned off the funds for the purposes other than the purpose for which finance was extended," the bank alleged.

This is the first time CBI has formally filed a criminal case against Jai Anmol. The development comes amid a broader crackdown on alleged fund diversion and loan irregularities across multiple companies associated with the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG).

In recent months, several loan accounts under ADAG have been flagged as “fraudulent” by banks, and enforcement agencies have launched multiple investigations.

RHFL — once a prominent name in housing finance — now faces mounting legal and financial troubles. The outcome of this case could deepen scrutiny on the group’s past lending practices and possibly trigger fresh actions from regulators and enforcement agencies.