Cobrapost alleges massive Rs. 28,874 crore fraud by Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group

New Delhi, Oct 30 Investigative news website Cobrapost on Thursday alleged that the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group has indulged in "a massive banking fraud amounting to more than Rs. 28,874 crore” since 2006 with impunity.

The Cobrapost report alleges that the fraud involves siphoning off funds that were raised through bank loans, IPOs and bonds by listed ADA Group companies

In addition, about $1,535 million raised abroad was routed to India in a fraudulent manner. This includes $750 million a mysterious benefactor company, NexGen Capital, advanced to Emerging Market Investments & Trading Pte (EMITS) of Singapore during a temporary custody arrangement with Reliance Innoventures, the holding company of the ADA Group, Cobrapost further alleged in its investigation report which has been posted on its website.

“The entire sum of $750 million was routed to India and made to disappear, so were the subsidiaries through which diversion of funds was effected to Reliance Innoventures, the holding company of the ADA Group, an activity which can potentially classify as money laundering. Similarly, $785 million, raised in external commercial borrowings, found its way into various ADA Group companies, taking the total to US$ 1,535 million,” the Cobrapost report alleges.

Reliance ADA group issued a rebuttal to the report, describing Cobrapost’s expose as a “malicious and agenda-driven campaign” and alleging that the media platform’s “so-called expose" is a deliberate attempt to damage the group’s reputation and mislead stakeholders. The Anil Ambani-led company alleged “Cobrapost has been dormant since 2019 and its revival is fully funded by entities with direct commercial interest in acquiring Reliance Group assets."

The Cobrapost report further alleges that ADA Group companies and their key management personnel have committed the fraud in flagrant violation of various laws such as the Companies Act of 2013, Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Act, and the Income Tax Act, among others.

“The value of US$1,535 million thus diverted works out to Rs 13,047.50 crore in Indian currency at an average exchange rate of Rs 85 against one dollar. Put together, the amounts involved stand at more than Rs 41,921.57 crore,” according to the Cobrapost report.

Cobrapost claims it identified 26 offshore entities which are among the beneficiary companies and to some of which funds were remitted by ADAG shell companies. The locations of at least 14 of these 26 offshore shell entities have also been found.

Cobrapost also claims its investigation is based on a thorough analysis of multiple official and public third-party sources. These include statutory orders, regulatory filings and documents published by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), and the Reserve Bank of India; court orders; documents filed in foreign jurisdiction; and information available in public domain.

“We have been as meticulous and diligent as possible in extracting, collating, interpreting and verifying the data from all these sources,” the report adds.

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