SC tells CBI, ED do conduct fair, prompt probe into banking 'fraud' by Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group

New Delhi: Expressing displeasure over the "unexplained delay" in investigations in alleged siphoning off huge money, the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed CBI and the ED to conduct a “fair, prompt and dispassionate" probe into alleged massive banking and corporate fraud to the tune of Rs 40,000 crore involving Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) and Anil Ambani.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi asked why separate FIRs were not registered in respect of the complaints from other banks, as “nature of the offence may be the same, but the complainant is different, and the time of transaction might be different.”

The bench said the court would like to have a status report every month, and the bench would like to see how the central agencies take the investigation to a logical conclusion. The court said that the probe agencies have already taken time to commence the investigation, and asked the ED to constitute a special investigation team (SIT) comprising senior officers to probe ADAG and others.

The bench noted the appearances of Anil Ambani and ADAG through senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Shyam Divan and granted them four weeks to file responses on the plea.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the ED and CBI, said the funds siphoned off was around Rs 40,000 crore, and the probe was ongoing.

“There are two or three disturbing things, CBI says on the basis of a complaint received from one bank, the FIR is registered. Meanwhile, from other financial institutions, complaints have been received. Now, they say that they won’t register separate FIRs,” the bench said.

Mehta said the first FIR came from SBI and later, other banks also intimated about alleged siphoning, etc, which was also part of the investigation. The bench asked if these complaints would not amount to a separate independent offence.

Mehta said that it can be done, and agencies were not averse to registering separate offences.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioner, EAS Sarma, said the SBI FIR was registered in 2025, and the Bank of Baroda’s audit report came in 2020, in which they had detailed the manner in which the funds have been siphoned out, and the bank for five years did not lodge a complaint with the CBI.

“After the apex court issued notice, they have made their first arrest in the matter the day before yesterday in the largest corporate fraud in the country,” Bhushan said.

Referring to the ED’s affidavit, Rohatgi said there are five FIRs by CBI, representing a large number of banks and there are three ED ECIRs based on that, and there is Rs 12,000 crore attachment, and more than 100 summonses have been issued to various people.

Rohatgi said they are cooperating and nobody is running away.

Bhushan said the ED in its counter affidavit said, "They have found evidence of forged bank guarantees being given by them, and at least Rs 26,000 crore have been siphoned off to tax havens like Mauritius, etc. and there is Rs 1.78 lakh crore outstanding dues in these companies, and the only amount recovered in bankruptcy proceedings is Rs 15,000 crore and that gentleman who owned these companies has not been arrested till date."

"This is very serious, we expect your agencies must act fairly, independently and very smoothly. We would like to have a status report every month and let us see how you take the investigation to a logical conclusion. Such a huge amount has been siphoned,” the bench said, even as Rohatgi claimed, it was not correct.

The counsel assured the bench that Ambani will remain in India.