New Delhi: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has taken a stern action against industrialist Anil Ambani for violating its guidelines. The market regulator has banned him and 24 other other entities, including former top officials of Reliance Home Finance, from the equity market for 5 years. SEBI has also imposed a fine of Rs. 25 crore on them, citing charges of diverting funds from the company.

SEBI has fined Anil Ambani Rs 25 crore and prohibited him from serving as a director or key managerial personnel (KMP) in any listed company or registered intermediary in the securities market for 5 years. Additionally, SEBI has banned Reliance Home Finance from the securities market for six months and imposed a fine of Rs 6 lakh on the company.

SEBI Imposes Heavy Fines On Anil Ambani, Former Reliance Executives

The 24 banned entities include former chief executives of Reliance Home Finance Limited: Amit Bapna, Ravindra Sudhalkar, and Pinkesh R Shah. SEBI has imposed fines of Rs 25 crore on Ambani, Rs 27 crore on Bapna, Rs 26 crore on Sudhalkar, and Rs 21 crore on Shah. Additionally, SEBI has fined Reliance Unicorn Enterprises, Reliance Exchange Next LT, Reliance Commercial Finance Limited, Reliance Cleangen Limited, Reliance Business Broadcast News Holdings Limited, and Reliance Big Entertainment Private Limited Rs 25 crore each.

Why is Anil Ambani Banned?

SEBI’s 222-page final order revealed that Anil Ambani, with the assistance of key management at Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL), orchestrated a fraudulent scheme to divert funds from RHFL by disguising them as loans to entities connected to him. Despite the RHFL board of directors issuing strict orders to prevent such lending practices and regularly reviewing corporate loans, the company’s management disregarded these directives.

SEBI’s report stated that Anil Ambani and the company’s management planned the fraud, where RHFL’s key management personnel (KMP) misused funds by giving loans to ineligible borrowers, falsely labeling them as ‘promoter-related entities.’ Anil Ambani leveraged his role as ‘Chairman of ADM Group’ and his substantial indirect stake in RHFL’s holding company to execute the scheme.

SEBI Blames RHFL’s Management For Irresponsible Loans And Losses

RHFL has over 9 lakh shareholders, and SEBI’s order highlighted the irresponsible actions of the company’s management and promoters, who approved loans worth hundreds of crores to companies with no assets, cash flow, net worth, or revenue. SEBI noted that this pointed to a hidden agenda behind the loans.

Most of these borrowers ultimately failed to repay, causing RHFL to default on its loan obligations, which led to the company’s resolution under the RBI framework and significant hardship for its shareholders. Even now, over 9 lakh RHFL shareholders are facing substantial losses.

Also Read: Starbucks New CEO Under Fire Over Decision To Commute 1000 Miles In Private Jet