SBI classifies Reliance Communication, Anil Ambani as ‘fraud’; complaint to CBI in process, govt tells Parliament
New Delhi: The State Bank of India (SBI) has once again classified Reliance Communications (RCom) and its promoter director Anil D Ambani as 'fraud', and is currently in the process of filing a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the government informed Parliament on Monday, reported PTI.
Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, said the fraud classification was made on June 13, 2025, in line with the Reserve Bank of India’s Master Directions on Fraud Risk Management and SBI’s internal fraud policy.
“On June 24, 2025, the bank reported classification of fraud to RBI, and is also in the process of lodging complaint with CBI,” he said.
He further informed that on July 1, 2025, the Resolution Professional for RCom disclosed the fraud classification to the Bombay Stock Exchange in accordance with regulatory compliance.
SBI’s total credit exposure to the telecom company includes a fund-based principal outstanding of ₹2,227.64 crore, along with accrued interest and expenses from August 26, 2016, in addition to a non-fund-based bank guarantee of ₹786.52 crore.
RCom is currently undergoing proceedings under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) as per the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
The resolution plan was approved by the Committee of Creditors and submitted to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai on March 6, 2020, with final approval still awaited.
SBI has also initiated a personal insolvency process under the IBC against Anil D Ambani, which is presently being heard by the NCLT, Mumbai.
Chaudhary noted that SBI had initially declared the account and Ambani as ‘fraud’ on November 10, 2020, and filed a CBI complaint on January 5, 2021. However, the complaint was returned after the Delhi High Court issued a ‘status quo’ order on January 6, 2021.
The minister said that in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling in State Bank of India & Others vs Rajesh Agarwal & Others dated March 27, 2023—which required lenders to offer borrowers a chance to present their case before fraud classification—the earlier declaration was reversed on September 2, 2023.
Following the prescribed due process under the RBI’s updated circular dated July 15, 2024, SBI re-initiated the fraud classification, which culminated in the June 2025 declaration.
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