The central bureau of investigation (CBI) has arrested Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd's (RCFL) former director and chief executive officer (CEO) Devang Mody and Reliance Home Finance Ltd's (RHFL) former executive director and CEO Ravindra Sudhalkar in connection with its ongoing investigation into alleged loan diversion and bank fraud involving companies of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) group.
The arrests mark a significant development in the probe into allegations that funds borrowed from public sector banks (PSBs) by RCFL and RHFL were diverted to other Reliance ADA group companies, resulting in a combined wrongful loss of ₹7,623 crore to lenders.
According to the CBI, the investigation has revealed that the accused diverted borrowed funds to group entities, including Reliance Capital Ltd, Reliance Infrastructure Ltd and Reliance Power Ltd, allegedly causing wrongful gains to related entities while inflicting substantial losses on PSBs.
Alleged Loss of ₹7,623 Crore to Public Sector Banks
The agency said the RCFL case involves an alleged loss of ₹4,097 crore to 13 public sector banks, while the RHFL case pertains to an alleged loss of ₹3,526 crore to 10 PSBs.
A CBI spokesperson said the investigation has found evidence suggesting that loans were routed through intermediary and conduit companies in violation of regulatory guidelines and borrowing conditions imposed by lending banks.
The agency has alleged that the transactions ultimately benefited other companies within the Reliance ADA group.
Role of Devang Mody
According to investigators, Devang Mody served as CEO of RCFL between April 2017 and December 2018 and was a key decision-maker responsible for the company's operations.
The CBI alleged that Mr Mody approved loans to intermediary and conduit entities despite being aware that such lending was contrary to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines and the terms and conditions attached to borrowings obtained from public sector banks.
Investigators believe these transactions facilitated the diversion of funds away from their intended purpose.
Allegations Against Ravindra Sudhalkar
The agency has also accused Ravindra Sudhalkar, who served as executive director and CEO of RHFL from 1 October 2016 to 31 March 2022, of playing a central role in approving similar transactions.
According to CBI, Mr Sudhalkar approved loans to intermediary and conduit companies despite the lending allegedly being inconsistent with the company's internal lending policies, National Housing Bank (NHB) and RBI guidelines, as well as conditions attached to borrowings from public sector banks.
The agency contends that these approvals enabled the diversion of borrowed funds and contributed to the losses suffered by lenders.
Seven FIRs Registered
The CBI said it has registered seven first information reports (FIRs) against multiple Reliance ADA group entities, including Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom), Reliance Home Finance Ltd, Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd and Reliance Telecom Ltd (RTL).
The cases were initiated on the basis of complaints received from various PSBs and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).
The investigations are currently being monitored by the Supreme Court.
First Charge-sheet Filed in May
The agency filed its first charge-sheet in the Reliance Communications case on 29 May 2026.
The charge-sheet named 16 accused, including the company itself, five senior executives of Reliance Communications and 10 bank officials.
According to CBI, the arrests of Mr Mody and Mr Sudhalkar take the total number of persons arrested in the Reliance ADA group investigations to five.
The agency did not disclose further details regarding the arrests or whether additional custodial interrogation would be sought.
Investigation Continues
The Reliance ADA group cases represent one of the largest ongoing investigations involving alleged diversion of bank funds and financial irregularities linked to corporate borrowings.
CBI said further investigation is continuing to trace the flow of funds, examine the role of other individuals and entities and determine the full extent of the alleged fraud.
The allegations are yet to be tested in court and the accused are entitled to all legal remedies available under law.
All 3 former group MDs, and CEO of 3 companies, 3 senior finance department employees are behind bars, and Anil Ambani is seen participating and dancing in weddings. The count may go up as the July 19 anniversary approaches, the day Anil Ambani is rumored to have made contact with an ally from the South. Different companies, different executive managements, but the same trend of amassing bank loans, which underwent a relay race the moment they landed in the company accounts, passing through multiple potentially linked entities (outlined by sebi in RHFL order) and by Grant Thornton in its forensic report.
Are the agencies waiting for all these 9 “former” head honchos to spill the beans and name the beneficiary in the ramp up to July 19th 2026. Or will Amitabh Jhunjhunwala take the whole blame of the same trend of fund diversion across every company, being the ultimate approving authority on behalf of the promoters.. from the recent events of 4 arrests - Sateesh Seth, Gautam Doshi, Devang Mody and sudhalkar, it is obvious that Jhunjhunwala roped them in with his statements, to save Anil Ambani. If Jhunjhunwala had named Anil Ambani to agencies, he too would have been in like the 4 arrested accused in last 2 weeks.
4 of these arrested accused are on a frenzy to be moved from jail no 7 to jail no 3 , where Sateesh Seth is enjoying his time on a hospital bed. Though Jhunjhunwala is experiencing similar hospitality in no 7. All trying to be moved to no 3 and then interim bail on medical grounds. Ashok Kumar Pal the first of the arrested officials