Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday raided the office and residence of industrialist Anil Ambani in a high-stakes probe into an alleged loan fraud at Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom).
The searches targeted the promoter and former chairman amid charges of massive fund diversion, CBI said in a statement.
This follows registration of a second CBI case against Rcom and Anil Ambani, triggered by a Bank of Baroda complaint filed on February 24. The FIR accuses them of conspiracy, cheating under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), criminal misconduct and abuse of official position under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The bank has claimed a staggering loss, exceeding Rs 2,220 crore, from loans disbursed to RCom. Investigators allege these funds were diverted and misused through fictitious transactions with related parties, while the company’s books of accounts were manipulated to hide the irregularities.
The loans had been classified as a Non-Performing Asset (NPA) way back in 2017.
However, Anil Ambani’s petition to the Bombay High Court secured a stay on declaring it a fraud, until that protective order was vacated on February 23, 2026. This judicial green light allowed Bank of Baroda to file the complaint, paving the way for swift CBI action.
The fresh investigation is apart from an earlier CBI case against RCom, which stemmed from a complaint by State Bank of India (SBI) and a consortium of 11 banks. This one zeroes in on a separate loan tranche from Bank of Baroda, along with the erstwhile Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank — both now merged into it.
During Thursday’s searches, CBI teams recovered key documents linked to the loan transactions. There was no immediate response from RCoM or Anil Ambani.
