Mumbai, Aug 18 (UNI) Industrialist Anil Ambani’s lawyer has stated that State Bank of India’s (SBI) action against Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM) CMD Anil Ambani did not follow principles of natural justice as laid down by the Supreme Court.
“SBI’s ex-parte action against Ambani is in violation of the principles laid down by the top court. SBI must reconsider its actions in this matter, as it has already withdrawn show-cause notices issued against five other non-executive directors,” Anil Ambani’s lawyer said.
“SBI’s order was passed ex-parte, without giving Anil Dhirubhai Ambani a chance to present his case. This denial of a fair hearing clearly shows that the principles of natural justice as laid down by the Supreme Court were not followed. Such one-sided decisions not only weaken confidence in the bank’s credibility but also set a troubling precedent for how financial institutions treat stakeholders, especially when the reputational and financial impact is severe,” the lawyer said.
Rcom’s lawyer argued that while SBI has withdrawn show-cause notices issued against five other non-executive directors, the notice against Anil Ambani was not withdrawn, which is “an act of selective approach”.SBI has withdrawn the notices issued to five other non-executive directors of RCOM, acknowledging that they had no role in the company’s day-to-day operations or financial decision-making.
“This selective and inconsistent approach raises serious concerns, as such differential treatment undermines the principle of fairness, and weakens confidence in the impartiality of the Bank’s decision-making process,” the lawyer stated.
It may be recalled that SBI had classified Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM), along with Promoter Director Anil Ambani, as “fraud” in accordance with the RBI’s master circular on Fraud Risk Management and the bank’s board-approved policy on Classification, Reporting & Management of Frauds.
Earlier, Anil Ambani’s counsel had strongly objected to SBI’s move to classify Reliance Communications’ loan account as “fraud” and stated that the bank’s move was an “ex-parte order” issued by its Fraud Identification Committee (FIC).SBI’s action was taken through an ex-parte order and such orders are issued without a hearing.
The action was taken based on a 2020 forensic audit related to a 2016 loan, despite no recent urgency or engagement from the bank for nearly a year, the lawyer said.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned several senior executives of the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group in connection with its probe into alleged money laundering in a Rs 17,000-crore bank loan fraud case.
The ED is also expected to summon Anil Ambani again after questioning senior executives, examining documents and digital data gathered, sources said.
The executives questioned by the ED include a former chief financial officer of Reliance Group, Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, who is a former close aide of Anil Ambani and Sateesh Seth, a close Anil Ambani confidante.
According to sources, evidence gathered by the ED revealed that Reliance Home Finance Limited and Reliance Commercial Finance Limited, were used to allegedly divert loans received from banks to Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Power. The ED unearthed money laundering through these two group entities, according to sources.
