SBI has given a big blow to the loan account of Reliance Communication, a company of Anil Ambani, who once dominated the telecom sector. Reliance Communications said on Tuesday that State Bank of India (SBI) has put its loan account in a ‘fraud’ category.
SBI is now planning to report the company and its former director Anil Ambani to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In the stock exchange filing, the company said that SBI has taken this decision regarding credit facilities from August 2016. Currently, Reliance Communications is going through insolvency under the Insolvency Code (IBC) and the National Company is waiting for the final approval of the Law Tribunal (NCLT).
According to a report by CNBC-TV18, the news published on India Today, SBI sent a show cause notice to the company in December 2023, March 2024 and September 2024. After reviewing the company’s reply, Bank has reached the decision that Anil Ambani’s company has not followed the terms of its loan and has not been able to give complete information about the irregularities in the operation of its accounts.
SBI will report to RBI
After complete review, SBI has cleared the loan accounts of Reliance Communication in the ‘Fraud’ category. Also, SBI will also send this information to RBI. At the same time, reports of people associated with such accounts will also be done by SBI. Anil Ambani’s name was also included in this.
What did Reliance Communications say?
In its reply, Reliance Communications said that these loans by SBI are related to the period before the start of the Corporate Insolvency Solution Process (CIRP) in 2019. The company argued that under Section 32A of the IBC, once the solution plan is approved, it is exempted from liabilities related to crimes committed before the CIRP starts.
The company said that these facilities are required to be resolved under solution scheme or liquidation and the company has currently received protection under IBC. Also, Reliance Communications is also taking legal advice in this regard.
One such case also came in 2024
Significantly, this is not the first time a bank has identified the accounts of Reliance Communications. In November 2024, Canara Bank also put the account in this category, but the Bombay High Court stayed that decision in February 2025. In this, the borrower was cited not to follow the RBI guidelines to give hearing an opportunity.