CBI chargesheets Anil Ambani, Rana Kapoor in Rs 2,796 crore corruption case

New Delhi: The CBI filed a chargesheet on Thursday against Anil Ambani and others over alleged fraudulent transactions between the industrialist's group companies, RCFL and RHFL, Yes Bank and firms of the bank's former CEO Rana Kapoor's family, causing a loss of Rs 2,796 crore to the bank, officials said.

In its chargesheet filed before a special court in Mumbai, the federal agency has said Ambani is the chairman of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) Group and director of Reliance Capital Limited, the holding company of RCFL and RHFL.

No comments from the ADA group were immediately available.

Besides Ambani, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has chargesheeted Rana Kapoor, Bindu Kapoor, Radha Kapoor, Roshni Kapoor, RCFL, RHFL (now Authum Investment and Infrastructure Limited), RAB Enterprises Private Limited, Imagine Estate Private Limited, Bliss House Private Limited, Imagine Habitat Private Limited, Imagine Residence Private Limited and Morgan Credits Private Limited under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The CBI registered two cases in 2022 against Kapoor, the then managing director and CEO of the Yes Bank, Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) and Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL) on a complaint from the bank's chief vigilance officer.

"Yes Bank invested around Rs 2,045 crore in non-convertible debentures and commercial debts of RCFL and Rs 2,965 crore in non-convertible debentures and commercial papers of RHFL in the year 2017 on the approval of Rana Kapoor despite CARE Ratings placing ADA Group financial companies 'under watch' in view of deteriorating financial standing and adverse market assessment," a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.

The CBI findings have shown that funds, invested in RCFL and RHFL by the Yes Bank, were subsequently siphoned through multiple layers, demonstrating a systematic diversion of public money, the statement said.

"Investigation revealed a conspiracy between Rana Kapoor and Anil Ambani wherein Rana Kapoor abused his official position to channel substantial public funds of Yes Bank Ltd into financially-stressed ADA Group companies, while ADA Group reciprocated by sanctioning and facilitating concessional loans and investments to entities controlled by Rana Kapoor's family," it said.

As quid pro quo, Ambani got credit facilities sanctioned from RCFL and RHFL at concessional rates for loss-making family entities of Kapoor -- companies owned by his wife Bindu Kapoor and daughters Radha Kapoor and Roshni Kapoor.

"This fraudulent arrangement resulted in massive wrongful loss to Yes Bank (amounting to Rs 2,796.77 crore) and corresponding unlawful gain to RCFL, RHFL and other companies of ADA Group as well as companies owned by family members of Rana Kapoor," the CBI spokesperson said.

She said another subsidiary company of Reliance Capital Limited -- Reliance Nippon Mutual Funds -- on Ambani's instructions, invested Rs 1,160 crore in 2017-18 in non-convertible debentures of Morgan Credits Private Limited, another entity owned by Kapoor's family.

"Reliance Nippon Mutual Funds also purchased ADA Group debentures worth Rs 249.8 crore from Yes Bank," she said.

In addition, Reliance Nippon Mutual Funds also invested Rs 1,750 crore in unsecured debt instruments (AT1 bonds) of the Yes Bank.

"These high-risk and high-reward bonds had no fixed maturity date and could either be converted into equity or written off completely in case of crisis. It may be recalled that AT1 bonds rank most below other debts in the event of liquidation," the CBI has alleged.