Anil Ambani, once among India’s top industrialists, is facing renewed pressure after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided multiple premises connected to his Reliance Group. The raids come just as his companies were trying to recover from years of financial and regulatory setbacks.
In June this year, the State Bank of India classified Reliance Communications’ loans as fraudulent, pointing to alleged fund diversion that began in 2016. That followed a major move in August 2024, when SEBI barred Ambani and 24 others from trading in securities for five years. He was also fined ₹25 crore over suspected misuse of funds at Reliance Home Finance.
Ambani’s troubles started nearly two decades ago after the business split from his brother Mukesh Ambani. While his group once held strong positions in telecom, finance, power, and infrastructure, it soon fell into a downward spiral. Massive debts and business failures followed. Reliance Communications shut its mobile services in 2019 and entered bankruptcy with debts topping ₹46,000 crore. Reliance Capital defaulted on ₹40,000 crore and lost key financial assets to foreign and domestic buyers during bankruptcy resolution.
Reliance Naval, a shipbuilding firm acquired in 2015, failed to deliver on a key defence contract and went into insolvency. Its assets were eventually taken over by Swan Energy in 2022.
As the group collapsed, Anil Ambani stepped down from the boards of several companies, including Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Power. Most family members also distanced themselves from the core business operations, though Tina Ambani remains on the board of Dassault Reliance Aerospace.
Despite all the setbacks, the group began a slow push for revival in 2022. The new strategy focuses on clean energy, defence, and infrastructure. Reliance Power currently operates over
5,300 MW in generation capacity, including large coal-based plants like Sasan and Rosa. The company has cleared its debts and aims to be entirely debt-free by the next quarter.
It also plans to invest more than ₹10,000 crore in a solar power plant and manufacturing unit in Andhra Pradesh. In FY24, Reliance Power posted a profit of ₹2,947 crore and earned ₹44.79 crore in the first quarter of FY26.
However, the fresh ED raids and the fraud classification of its loan accounts are major setbacks. As investigations deepen, it remains unclear whether Anil Ambani’s attempt at a corporate comeback will stay on track—or falter again under legal and financial pressure.
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