CBI charges Reliance ADA in loan misuse case, names 16 accused in first chargesheet

Mumbai: The CBI on Friday filed its first chargesheet before a special court against 16 people in a case related to alleged misuse of loans sanctioned by the State Bank of India (SBI) and other lenders to a Reliance ADA Group firm.

The accused named in the charge sheet included Reliance Communications Limited, five senior executives of the company, and ten officials of the SBI, Bank of Maharashtra (BOM) and the erstwhile Syndicate Bank.

They were charged with criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misappropriation under the IPC, and criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Central Bureau of Investigation said in a press release.

The chargesheet pertained to alleged misuse of a Rs 1,200 crore term loan sanctioned by the SBI, Rs 500 crore letter of credit facilities sanctioned by BOM, and Rs 350 crore letter of credit facilities sanctioned by Syndicate Bank.

Further investigation has been kept open to probe other loans sanctioned by the consortium of banks and to ascertain the role of other conspirators involved in the alleged diversion and misappropriation of public funds, the CBI said.

The agency registered the case on SBI's complaint against Reliance Communications Limited and Anil Ambani for allegedly causing a loss of Rs 2,929.05 crore to the bank, the press note said.

"Rupee Term Loans" were sanctioned to Reliance Communications Limited by a consortium of 11 banks led by SBI. As per the FIR, the total exposure amounted to Rs 19,694.33 crore and involved 17 Public Sector Banks.

CBI has also registered six FIRs against Rcom, RHFL, RCFL and RTL which are under investigation.

The investigation in the seven RCs ( regular cases) registered by the CBI to investigate the alleged fraud committed by Anil Ambani-led Reliance ADA Group companies is being monitored by the Supreme Court.