State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to classify the loan account of Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom) as ‘fraud’ and report the name of the company’s erstwhile director, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), reveals regulatory filing by the lender and RCom.
In a letter dated 23 June 2025, and received by Rcom on 30 June 2025, SBI notified both the company and Mr Ambani of its decision. The move follows a series of show-cause notices and responses exchanged between the lender and the telecom company over the past year.
“This is to inform you that the Company has received a letter from SBI… stating that SBI has decided to report the loan account of the Company as ‘fraud’ and to report the name of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (erstwhile director of the Company) to the RBI, as per the extant RBI guidelines,” RCom says in its disclosure to stock exchanges.
Reliance Communications, once a major player in India’s telecom sector, has been under the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) pursuant to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). A resolution plan for the company has already been approved by the committee of creditors and is currently awaiting final clearance from the national company law tribunal (NCLT).
Despite this ongoing process, SBI’s classification of the loan as fraud marks a significant escalation. In its regulatory filing, SBI says its fraud identification committee reached the decision after evaluating responses from RCom to earlier show-cause notices which were found unsatisfactory.
SBI cited non-adherence to the agreed terms and conditions of loan agreements and irregularities in the conduct of the account as grounds for its decision. The Bank had issued the first show-cause notice to RCom on 20 December 2023, followed by additional correspondence in March and September 2024.
“After due examination, it is concluded that sufficient reasons have not been provided by the respondent to explain the non-adherence… to the satisfaction of the Bank,” SBI stated in its communication. A detailed reasoned order, outlining the Bank’s findings, was also issued.
The Bank has now decided to report both the loan account and the name of Anil Ambani — as the director at the material time — to RBI, in line with the central bank’s master directions on fraud reporting.
The decision to report Mr Ambani’s name to RBI could have far-reaching implications. RBI maintains a list of 'wilful defaulters' and individuals associated with fraudulent accounts which could impact their ability to access future credit or hold board positions in other companies.
Anil Ambani, once among India’s wealthiest businessmen, has faced a series of financial and legal challenges in recent years. RCom’s downfall, largely attributed to mounting debt and intense competition in the telecom sector, led to its bankruptcy filing in 2019.
Reliance Communications has attached a copy of SBI’s letter in its stock exchange filing and stated that the matter is being disclosed in accordance with Regulation 30 of SEBI's Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements.
The company's disclosure did not provide any direct comment or rebuttal to the fraud classification but confirmed the receipt of the Bank’s communication.
The next steps will likely hinge on NCLT’s approval of the pending resolution plan and whether the fraud classification affects the course of insolvency proceedings. Legal experts note that such a classification does not halt the CIRP but may influence decisions regarding recoveries, liabilities of directors and future claims.
In 2015, Anil Ambani-promoted RCom and Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (RInfra) obtained a loan of Rs565 crore and Rs635 crore, respectively, from SBI. For obtaining the loan from SBI's project finance strategic business unit, Mr Ambani gave a personal guarantee that was equivalent to the total loan amount or Rs1,200 crore. The loan was disbursed in 2016.
During 2017, both RCom and RInfra committed defaults in repayment. The accounts were retrospectively declared as non-performing accounts (NPAs) by SBI with effect from 26 August 2016 pursuant to the risk-based supervision during the year 2017.
While hearing a petition filed by SBI in August 2020, NCLT's Mumbai bench had observed that without obtaining consent from SBI, Mr Ambani provided personal guarantees for Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) group of companies, from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd, China Development Bank and Exim Bank of China.
Later in September this year, appearing before a UK Court (under Rule 71) via video conference over a lawsuit brought by three State-controlled Chinese banks over non-repayment of loans, Anil Ambani had claimed that his current expenses are being borne by his wife and family and that he has even taken a loan from his son Anmol to the tune of several crores of rupees. He further claimed that he had sold off all his jewellery for Rs9 crore to pay off legal expenses and now owns 'nothing meaningful'. (Read:
Anil Ambani Tells London Court That He Has sold Jewellery and Taken Loans from His Mother and Son)
SBI’s decision comes at a time when regulators have been tightening scrutiny of large corporate defaults. The move is also consistent with RBI’s push for early detection and reporting of fraud in the banking system.
This development puts renewed focus on corporate governance and accountability among India’s corporate debtors, especially in high-profile insolvency cases.
RCom’s stock, which has been suspended from trading, remains under the insolvency framework, and further updates are expected once NCLT delivers its verdict on the resolution plan.
