A sweeping Cobrapost investigation has accused Anil Ambani’s Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) group of orchestrating a financial fraud totalling Rs28,874 crore since 2006 by siphoning off funds raised via bank loans, initial public offerings (IPOs) and bonds into promoter entities. In addition, the probe claims US$1.53bn (billion) (about Rs13,048 crore) was illicitly routed from overseas to ADA entities through shadowy transactions, bringing the alleged total misappropriation to Rs41,921.6 crore. The report identifies dozens of shell companies, SPVs (special purpose vehicles) and offshore conduits in jurisdictions like the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Singapore, Cyprus and Mauritius as instruments for masking the trail. In a sharp counterattack, the Reliance ADA group has issued a strong rebuttal, labelling Cobrapost’s exposé a 'malicious corporate hit job' and a 'recycled campaign of disinformation' designed to damage its reputation and crash share prices.
According to
Cobrapost, six listed ADA group companies, including Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (RInfra), Reliance Capital Ltd (RCap), Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom), Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL), Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL) and Reliance Corporate Advisory Services Ltd (RCASL), were used to divert funds to promoter-group companies. The method involved granting loans, debentures and preference share issues to related entities, then writing off or merging the conduits to erase traces. Funds were siphoned in rounds—first into intermediaries, then into shell entities and, eventually, to the holding company, Reliance Innoventure Pvt Ltd.
Cobrapost’s report, titled 'The Lootwallahs: How Indian Business is Robbing Indians (Part I)', accuses the R-ADA group of using 'dozens of pass-through' companies registered in Singapore, Cyprus, Mauritius, the British Virgin Islands and Jersey to funnel public funds back to its holding company Reliance Innoventure, controlled by Anil Ambani and family members.
A striking instance detailed by Cobrapost involved the purchase of a luxury yacht (estimated at US$20mn (million) in 2008. The report suggests that RCom funds were redirected through a phoney handset supply deal via Reliance Transport & Travels and Gateway Net Trading, while a Jersey-based firm, Ammolite Holdings, acted as intermediary. After the yacht sale was completed, the equity in Ammolite was written off by the group companies, thereby nullifying accountability.
The diversion is said to have peaked in several large transactions, according to Cobrapost. For instance, it says CLE Pvt Ltd emerged as a key vehicle. Cobrapost claims this entity accepted funds worth Rs14,529.18 crore across ADA companies which were then funnelled back to promoter entities via shell vehicles. The sums included Rs10,049 crore from Reliance Infrastructure, Rs3,270 crore from Reliance Capital, Rs286.9 crore from Reliance Commercial Finance and Rs123 crore from Reliance Home Finance, with additional loans from Yes Bank. After the diversion, these entities were merged into Edico Ventures, a promoter company, allegedly to conceal the trail.
Reliance Home Finance is also alleged to have diverted around Rs7,965 crore to 49 related entities; ultimately, these funds landed in 14 ADA-controlled entities. Reliance Commercial Finance, too, allegedly channelled Rs4,979.9 crore through 27 companies to promoter interests. Further, Reliance Corporate Advisory Services is accused of diverting Rs1,400 crore via intercorporate loans with zero interest, all feeding into the promoter network.
In offshore routes, Cobrapost alleges that Emerging Market Investments & Trading (EMITS) in Singapore transferred US$750mn in 2007 to ADA entities, after which the entity was dissolved. It contends that shell entities used downstream investment in AAA & Sons Enterprises Pvt Ltd, later merged with Reliance Innoventure, masking the flow. Additionally, two more fund diversions from Reliance Infrastructure totalling US$575mn are blamed on similar mechanisms and alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
Cobrapost grounds its analysis in regulatory filings, court orders, submissions in national company law tribunal (NCLT), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), data from the Union ministry of corporate affairs (MCA), records from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other public documents. It also highlights the staggering debt exposure of ADA entities which, together, owed Rs178,491 crore as of March 2025, against which recoveries and admitted dues have been modest. Banks and investors are estimated to have lost Rs162,976 crore, while investor losses are pegged at Rs100,000 crore.
The exposé does not spare regulators and law enforcement. Cobrapost claims that authorities such as SEBI, RBI, directorate of enforcement (ED), central bureau of investigation (CBI) and serious fraud investigation office (SFIO) failed to act decisively. The report says that although the 2013 RBI circular on wilful defaulters’ names fund diversion as a key criterion, ADA companies were allowed to pile non-performing assets (NPAs) over the years without timely action by lending banks. Cobrapost says banks turned a blind eye for a decade before finally declaring the group as defaulters.
In an official statement, the Reliance ADA group says Cobrapost — which it called a 'defunct and discredited online platform' — has been 'dormant since 2019' and is being 'resurrected as part of a corporate conspiracy funded by rivals with commercial interests in acquiring Reliance ADA group assets. The company alleged that Cobrapost’s campaign was aimed at 'tarnishing the reputation of Anil D Ambani, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Power, and misleading 55 lakh shareholders'.
The statement accuses Cobrapost founder Aniruddha Bahal of engaging in 'improper and coercive tactics' to extract concessions from the group, calling the episode an 'unlawful act of criminal intimidation, blackmail, and greenmail'. The Reliance ADA group states that it will take 'all appropriate legal remedies,' including contempt and defamation actions, to protect shareholder interests.
Calling the allegations 'old, distorted, and already examined by authorities including the CBI, ED, SEBI and other regulators', Reliance ADA group says Cobrapost’s claims were nothing but 'recycled public information presented out of context'. It asserted that most of the issues referenced are sub judice, warning that such media commentary could amount to 'contempt of court and interference with fair trial'.
In its rebuttal, Reliance ADA group denied all allegations as 'false, baseless, defamatory', calling Cobrapost’s narrative a 'trial by media'. It argues that no court has found the group guilty, that their actions conform to RBI-approved resolution frameworks and accuses Cobrapost of misrepresenting public documents. ADA further threatened defamation action, claiming the investigation impinges on the administration of justice.
However, the sheer scale and layering of alleged misconduct invite urgent scrutiny. If substantiated, the revelations point to systemic failure of oversight, enabling massive erosion of public wealth. This is just Part I of the 'Lootwallahs' series by Cobrapost; subsequent instalments are expected to deepen the analysis of how powerful corporates may exploit regulatory gaps and enforcement inertia.
Meanwhile, stakeholders and creditors will closely monitor developments, especially if courts or tribunals accept or reject the expose.
As the Reliance ADA group denies the charges ahead of Cobrapost’s press conference, the controversy adds to ongoing debates about the role of shell companies, corporate governance standards, and whether India’s regulatory and judicial mechanisms are equipped to confront financial malfeasance at the highest levels.
Whispers of Anil’s Abode being attached by an agency have already started… a 5000 crore landmark at Pali Hill.. a bombardier Parked at Mumbai airport is also of no use to Ambani, due to the Lookout Circular, and the agency may already have taken the keys.
Few more officials have lookout circulars issued in their names in October.. airport staff can tell who all were sent back home. But the key mastermind of the sham transactions of tens of thousands of crores, Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, is slipping out of the agencies net. Or is it Anil Ambani who wants to safeguard his billions, managed by Jhunjhunwala’s family offices from Singapore ??