Investigative portal Cobrapost has accused the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) Group of a staggering fraud amounting to ₹28,874 crore since 2006. The allegations, detailed in an article, claim that the group diverted funds borrowed from banks and investors. However, the ADA Group has responded by stating that most of the issues raised are part of ongoing or past investigations and are already in the public domain.
During a press conference, Cobrapost founder and editor Aniruddha Bahal explained that the alleged diversion of funds involved six companies within the ADA Group: Reliance Infrastructure Ltd., Reliance Capital Ltd., Reliance Communication Ltd., Reliance Home Finance Ltd., Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd., and Reliance Corporate Advisory Services Ltd. These companies reportedly granted loans to subsidiaries or shell entities, which were later dissolved, and subsequently wrote off these loans.
Bahal cited the example of Anil Ambani’s 2008 yacht purchase for his wife, Tina Ambani. The report claims the yacht was acquired through an ADA Group subsidiary, Reliance Transport and Travels Pvt Ltd. The process allegedly involved chartering the yacht through a Jersey-based company, Ammolite Holdings Limited (in which Reliance Capital held a 50% stake), using funds moved from Reliance Communication to Reliance Transport & Travels for a complete buyout. Further fund transfers were made to an Italian company, Ferretti SPA, based on Ammolite Holdings’ instructions, with all investments in Ammolite Holdings eventually written off.
The Cobrapost report also implicated Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Capital, Reliance Home Finance, and Reliance Commercial Finance in allegedly diverting ₹14,529.18 crore to both offshore and Indian entities. These funds were purportedly funneled back to ADA Group promoter companies via Edico Ventures.
In its statement, the Reliance ADA Group categorically denied the allegations, asserting that the exposé contains no new revelations. The group described Cobrapost’s claims as a “regurgitation of old publicly available information – misrepresented, distorted, and taken entirely out of context.” They emphasized that the information has been previously examined by statutory authorities and that many of the matters are sub judice, with any external comments potentially constituting contempt of court.
Furthermore, the ADA Group alleged that individuals associated with Cobrapost had approached the group’s well-wishers, suggesting that the matter could be settled through ethically and legally questionable means, an allegation that Cobrapost’s Bahal has denied.