Shares of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (NSE: RELINFRA) resumed trading today after a four-day suspension that had investors on edge. The stock opened at ₹164.54, reflecting a decline of ₹8.66 nearly 5% from its previous session. Despite the trading curbs, Reliance Infrastructure has displayed strong short-term momentum, surging approximately 27% over the past week. However, the longer-term picture remains challenging. Over the past year, the stock has lost nearly 40% of its value, reflecting ongoing financial stress and market uncertainties surrounding the Anil Ambani-led group. Once a four-digit heavyweight, the stock had previously collapsed to distressed levels before making a partial recovery to around ₹173.20.
Over the last five years, Reliance Infrastructure shares have gained more than 497%. The stock’s 52-week high is Rs 425, while the 52-week low is Rs 127.95. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had earlier frozen assets worth over ₹8,997 crore linked to the Reliance Group as part of a money-laundering probe related to an alleged ₹17,000-crore bank fraud case. Group companies have consistently stated that Anil Ambani is not involved in day-to-day operations, though he has previously been questioned by the ED. The industrialist has once been questioned by the ED as part of the probe. Meanwhile, The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted interim relief to industrialist Anil Ambani by staying coercive action by three banks seeking to declare the accounts of his companies as “fraud” based on a forensic audit report (FAR) from October 2020. A single-judge bench of justice Milind Jadhav accepted Ambani’s argument that the report, prepared by external auditor BDO India LLP, could not be relied upon as it was not signed by a duly qualified chartered accountant, as required under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) Master Directions.
The case pertains to three banks that had issued show cause notices to Ambani based on the FAR for classifying the loan accounts of his companies, Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom), Reliance Telecom Limited (RTL) and Reliance Infratel Limited RITL), as “fraud” based on an October 2020 forensic audit report by BDO India LLP. Ambani, the former non-executive director of RCom, had filed three separate cases against the Indian Overseas Bank, IDBI Bank, and Bank of Baroda, urging the high court to restrain the banks from acting on show-cause notices issued to him between January and December 2024. As interim relief, Ambani sought a stay on the notices and any coercive action. He argued that the signatory of BDO India LLP, appointed by SBI, was not a chartered accountant registered with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Hence, the firm was not authorised to carry out the audit according to the RBI’s Revised Master Direction.