New Delhi, Aug 23 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday carried out searches at two locations in Mumbai, including the residential premises of industrialist Anil D. Ambani and the official premises of Reliance Communication Ltd. (RCOM), in connection with an alleged Rs 2,929.05 crore bank fraud.

The case was registered on August 21, 2025, following a complaint by the State Bank of India (SBI), Mumbai, accusing RCOM, its Director Anil Ambani, unidentified public servants and others of cheating and causing wrongful loss to the bank.

According to CBI officials, the accused are alleged to have entered into a criminal conspiracy to misrepresent facts and secure credit facilities from SBI in favour of RCOM.

The agency said the funds were subsequently misutilised and diverted through multiple channels, including inter-company loan transactions and inter-corporate deposits.

Investigators also flagged irregularities such as the misutilisation of sales invoice financing, discounting of RCOM bills by Reliance Infratel Ltd., movement of funds through group entities, and the write-off of capital advances given to Netizen Engineering Pvt. Ltd.—a Reliance ADA Group company.

In addition, fictitious debtors were allegedly created and later written off to conceal the diversion of funds. The offences under probe include criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal breach of trust. A special CBI court in Mumbai had issued search warrants on August 22, enabling the raids that began on Saturday.

“The searches are still continuing,” a CBI press statement said.

It is pertinent to note here that earlier this month, Anil Ambani faced a gruelling nine-hour interrogation at the ED headquarters in the national capital regarding an alleged Rs 17,000-crore loan fraud case.

This is one of the biggest bank fraud cases under probe against a telecom company, underscoring rising regulatory scrutiny of corporate borrowing practices.

–IANS

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