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What is the story about?
Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, ex-Group MD of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications, personally got a ₹1,200 crore loan sanctioned from SBI in August 2016, which remained unpaid, causing a ₹971.25 crore loss to the bank, the CBI told a court here on Wednesday.
Terming Jhunjhunwala a central figure in the group’s financial operations, the CBI claimed that funds received from banks were utilised as per his instructions, and their misuse resulted in wrongful losses.
Jhunjhunwala’s questioning is also essential to find out the ultimate beneficiaries of the defrauded loan amount, which is within his exclusive knowledge, the CBI added.
The Central probe agency made these assertions while seeking Jhunjhunwala’s remand in an alleged loan fraud case, which the court allowed till June 5.
He was previously under judicial custody in Tihar Jail in a related money laundering case, being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
On Monday, he was produced before the special CBI court judge J P Darekar on a production warrant, and after completing the formalities, the CBI arrested him in the fraud case.
As per the probe agency, Jhunjhunwala, as group Managing Director of Reliance Communications, a Reliance ADAG firm, controlled key aspects of the company’s functioning, including corporate finance, banking and utilisation of funds.
The agency filed a first charge sheet in the case against 16 people last week, but did not name Jhunjhunwala.
The case was registered following a complaint lodged by the State Bank of India against Reliance Communications and Anil Ambani for allegedly causing a loss of ₹2,929.05 crore to the bank.
A consortium of 11 banks led by SBI had sanctioned ’Rupee Term Loans’ to Reliance Communications. As per the FIR, the total exposure amounted to ₹19,694.33 crore and involved 17 Public Sector Banks.
The CBI, represented by special public prosecutors A Limosin and Jitendra Sharma, on Wednesday, sought Jhunjhunwala’s remand for five days for a detailed investigation.
The agency, on August 21, 2025, registered an FIR based on a complaint by the State Bank of India (SBI) against RCOM, its promoter Anil Ambani, and unknown public servants. The initial complaint alleged a wrongful loss of ₹2,929.05 crore to SBI.
According to the CBI’s probe, RCOM and its subsidiaries- Reliance Infratel Limited (RITL) and Reliance Telecom Limited (RTL)- collectively availed loans of ₹31,580 crore from various banks.
Of these, ₹13,667.73 crore (44 per cent) was utilised to repay loans and other obligations towards banks /FIs. However, approximately ₹12,692.31 crore (41 per cent) was allegedly routed to connected third parties and shifted between group companies through manipulated books, the CBI alleged.
The CBI highlighted a suspicious ”Capital Advance” of ₹5,300 crore extended by RCOM to Netizen Engineering Pvt Ltd.
The investigation showed that Netizen was managed by RCOM employees, and the funds were never intended for capital goods, pointing to deliberate round-tripping.
Further elaborating on Jhunjhunwala’s role, the probe agency cited that he personally submitted the application for a ₹1,200 crore term loan from SBI in August 2016, which was sanctioned and disbursed by the bank.
The loan, however, remained unpaid, resulting in a wrongful loss of ₹971.25 crore to the bank, the CBI alleged.
”Since he was the main link between management and senior officials of the banks, he can provide important leads about management /utilisation of funds borrowed from banks,” the CBI submitted.
The federal probe agency stressed that custodial interrogation of the accused was necessary to unearth the criminal conspiracy orchestrated by the accused company, its promoters / directors, representative and public servants.
Defence lawyer Mudit Jain submitted that the charge sheet has been filed in the case, and Jhunjhuwala has not been named as an accused.
Jhunjhunwala was called to record a statement as a witness in the case by CBI and has no connection with the alleged offence, Jain added.
The court, after hearing both sides, remanded the accused to the CBI custody till June 5.
Terming Jhunjhunwala a central figure in the group’s financial operations, the CBI claimed that funds received from banks were utilised as per his instructions, and their misuse resulted in wrongful losses.
Jhunjhunwala’s questioning is also essential to find out the ultimate beneficiaries of the defrauded loan amount, which is within his exclusive knowledge, the CBI added.
The Central probe agency made these assertions while seeking Jhunjhunwala’s remand in an alleged loan fraud case, which the court allowed till June 5.
He was previously under judicial custody in Tihar Jail in a related money laundering case, being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
On Monday, he was produced before the special CBI court judge J P Darekar on a production warrant, and after completing the formalities, the CBI arrested him in the fraud case.
As per the probe agency, Jhunjhunwala, as group Managing Director of Reliance Communications, a Reliance ADAG firm, controlled key aspects of the company’s functioning, including corporate finance, banking and utilisation of funds.
The agency filed a first charge sheet in the case against 16 people last week, but did not name Jhunjhunwala.
The case was registered following a complaint lodged by the State Bank of India against Reliance Communications and Anil Ambani for allegedly causing a loss of ₹2,929.05 crore to the bank.
A consortium of 11 banks led by SBI had sanctioned ’Rupee Term Loans’ to Reliance Communications. As per the FIR, the total exposure amounted to ₹19,694.33 crore and involved 17 Public Sector Banks.
The CBI, represented by special public prosecutors A Limosin and Jitendra Sharma, on Wednesday, sought Jhunjhunwala’s remand for five days for a detailed investigation.
The agency, on August 21, 2025, registered an FIR based on a complaint by the State Bank of India (SBI) against RCOM, its promoter Anil Ambani, and unknown public servants. The initial complaint alleged a wrongful loss of ₹2,929.05 crore to SBI.
According to the CBI’s probe, RCOM and its subsidiaries- Reliance Infratel Limited (RITL) and Reliance Telecom Limited (RTL)- collectively availed loans of ₹31,580 crore from various banks.
Of these, ₹13,667.73 crore (44 per cent) was utilised to repay loans and other obligations towards banks /FIs. However, approximately ₹12,692.31 crore (41 per cent) was allegedly routed to connected third parties and shifted between group companies through manipulated books, the CBI alleged.
The CBI highlighted a suspicious ”Capital Advance” of ₹5,300 crore extended by RCOM to Netizen Engineering Pvt Ltd.
The investigation showed that Netizen was managed by RCOM employees, and the funds were never intended for capital goods, pointing to deliberate round-tripping.
Further elaborating on Jhunjhunwala’s role, the probe agency cited that he personally submitted the application for a ₹1,200 crore term loan from SBI in August 2016, which was sanctioned and disbursed by the bank.
The loan, however, remained unpaid, resulting in a wrongful loss of ₹971.25 crore to the bank, the CBI alleged.
”Since he was the main link between management and senior officials of the banks, he can provide important leads about management /utilisation of funds borrowed from banks,” the CBI submitted.
The federal probe agency stressed that custodial interrogation of the accused was necessary to unearth the criminal conspiracy orchestrated by the accused company, its promoters / directors, representative and public servants.
Defence lawyer Mudit Jain submitted that the charge sheet has been filed in the case, and Jhunjhuwala has not been named as an accused.
Jhunjhunwala was called to record a statement as a witness in the case by CBI and has no connection with the alleged offence, Jain added.
The court, after hearing both sides, remanded the accused to the CBI custody till June 5.
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