'Maybe he was cheated': Anil Ambani's lawyers respond as SC hears ₹27,300 crore bank fraud probe

The Supreme Court on Friday heard arguments related to the ongoing CBI and ED investigations into alleged siphoning of funds linked to Reliance Communications, with lawyers representing Anil Ambani arguing that “maybe he was cheated” in the transactions under scrutiny.

During the hearing, the CBI told the court that investigations into the alleged diversion of more than ₹27,300 crore of bank funds were “on track” and said two arrests had already been made, with more arrests likely in the coming days.

A petitioner before the court questioned why Ambani had not been arrested despite the agency allegedly establishing a money trail leading to him.

The Supreme Court, however, cautioned against “sensationalising” the investigation and observed that it would be “extremely shy” of directing an arrest, saying it was for the CBI and ED to decide whether custodial action was required.

Counsel appearing for Ambani also objected to the attachment of shares worth ₹1,575 crore in power distribution companies BSES Rajdhani Power Limited and BSES Yamuna Power Limited by investigating agencies.

The lawyers argued that the companies were being targeted merely because they belonged to the same corporate group and warned that the attachment had frozen working capital headroom.

They further told the court that BSES Rajdhani and BSES Yamuna supply electricity to crores of consumers in the national capital and that operational finances could be impacted by the attachments.

The case relates to allegations of diversion and misuse of bank funds connected to Reliance Communications and associated entities, which are under investigation by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate.