New Delhi, 09 May (H.S.): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted extensive raids on Saturday at 17 locations in Mumbai in alleged bank fraud cases linked to the Anil Ambani group. These raids were carried out in cases registered against companies of the Reliance ADA Group—Reliance Telecom Limited, Reliance Commercial Finance Limited, and Reliance Home Finance Limited—as well as their directors.

According to the CBI, the investigation is ongoing into cases involving alleged losses of thousands of crores to public sector banks and the Life Insurance Corporation of India. These raids were conducted based on search warrants issued by the special CBI court in Mumbai on 08 May. Besides the residential premises of the directors, searches were also conducted at offices of intermediary companies whose accounts were allegedly used for diversion and transactions of bank funds.

The agency stated that several important and incriminating documents were recovered during the search operation. Preliminary investigation has also revealed that several intermediary companies were operating from the same address, deepening suspicions regarding the transaction network and fund utilization. The seized documents and digital evidence are being examined.

The CBI said that over the past few months, seven cases have been registered against the Reliance group led by Anil Ambani based on complaints from various public sector banks and the Life Insurance Corporation of India. These cases involve investigation into alleged bank fraud, financial irregularities, and misuse of funds, with total alleged losses amounting to ₹27,337 crore.

The CBI informed that immediately after the registration of previous cases, search operations had been conducted at 14 premises including Mumbai and other locations. Based on facts emerging during the investigation, two senior officials of Reliance Communications—D Vishwanath and Anil Kalia—were arrested on 20 April.

D Vishwanath was serving as Joint President at Reliance Communications and was handling overall responsibility for the group's banking operations. Meanwhile, Anil Kalia, as Vice President, was actively involved in banking operations, payment processes, and fund utilization matters. It is alleged that both officials played significant roles in banking transactions and fund management. Both accused are currently in judicial custody.

The CBI stated that the investigation is probing bank accounts, financial transactions, relationships between related companies and intermediary entities. The agency is also examining whether the allegedly taken loans were used for other means instead of the specified purposes.

The investigating agency informed that the probe into these cases linked to the Anil Ambani group is being conducted under the supervision of the Supreme Court. Further questioning of several individuals and additional actions are anticipated in the case.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar