{"id":178299,"date":"2025-07-04T10:24:36","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T05:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/?p=178299"},"modified":"2025-07-04T10:24:36","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T05:24:36","slug":"the-ambani-chronicles-indias-fraudulent-elites-and-the-farce-of-accountability-under-bjp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/2025\/07\/04\/the-ambani-chronicles-indias-fraudulent-elites-and-the-farce-of-accountability-under-bjp.html","title":{"rendered":"The Ambani chronicles \u2014 India\u2019s fraudulent elites and the farce of accountability under BJP"},"content":{"rendered":"

Humayun Aziz Sandeela<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"When the State Bank of India (SBI) recently labeled the loan account of Reliance Communications (RCom) as \u201cfraud\u201d and announced it would report its former director, Anil Ambani, to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the move appeared significant. After all, it involved a man who was once the sixth richest person in the world. But if history is any guide, this may well be another act in the farcical drama of elite impunity in India\u2014where fraud is not punished but normalized when committed by those close to power.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s two most politically connected industrialists\u2014Mukesh and Anil Ambani\u2014have long operated in a zone where institutional scrutiny rarely penetrates. Their fortunes may have diverged, but both have benefited from a system that rewards proximity to the establishment while shielding them from the consequences of wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

Anil Ambani\u2019s downfall is now textbook. According to a detailed exchange filing by SBI in June 2025, RCom and its subsidiaries took loans totaling \u20b931,580 crore, a large portion of which was misused through a complex web of inter-company transactions and fund diversions. The bank cited forensic audit findings that pointed to the misutilisation of sanctioned loans, false invoicing, and transfers to connected parties. Canara Bank had already tagged RCom as a \u201cfraudulent borrower\u201d in September 2024 for similar reasons.<\/p>\n

Reports published by NDTV and The Economic Times suggest that 44% of the loans were used to repay unrelated financial obligations, while another 41% were used to settle dues with group entities\u2014entirely outside the scope of sanctioned purposes. Anil Ambani\u2019s legal team argues that he was a non-executive director, not responsible for day-to-day decisions, and that due process was denied. But this script is wearing thin.<\/p>\n

And this is not an isolated episode. As reported by Scroll.in and The Wire, other companies under Anil Ambani\u2019s Reliance Group\u2014Reliance Capital, Reliance Power, and Reliance Infrastructure\u2014have faced regulatory bans, insolvency proceedings, and accusations of document forgery. In 2020, Anil Ambani even declared bankruptcy in a UK court after defaulting on $925 million in loans from Chinese banks, claiming he couldn\u2019t pay even his legal fees.<\/p>\n

Yet, India\u2019s enforcement agencies have been unusually restrained. If the country\u2019s legal machinery worked with impartiality, Anil Ambani wouldn\u2019t merely be replying to bank notices\u2014he\u2019d be on trial for defrauding the public banking system.<\/p>\n

But the true scandal lies not just in Anil\u2019s collapse. It is in Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s enduring patronage of Mukesh Ambani, whose companies\u2014particularly Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail\u2014have expanded unimpeded under state protection. The most damning instance of cronyism remains the Rafale fighter jet deal.<\/p>\n

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BREAKING \ud83d\udea8 \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf7 Today, SBI has declared Anil Ambani\u2019s RCom a fraud.<\/p>\n

Modi gave Rafale contract to a fraud. pic.twitter.com\/EqteiLMB8H<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Shruti Dhore (@ShrutiDhore) July 3, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n