Reliance Infra clarifies after Bank of Baroda fraud tag on RCom, Anil Ambani; says no business impact

Reliance Infrastructure Ltd on Friday clarified that Bank of Baroda’s move to classify Reliance Communications Ltd and its former director Anil D Ambani’s loan account as fraud will have no bearing on its business or stakeholders.

“The recent action by Bank of Baroda to classify the loan account of Reliance Communications Limited and Mr. Anil D Ambani, as fraud has no impact on the business operations, financial performance, shareholders, employees, or any other stakeholders of Reliance Infrastructure,” Reliance Infra said in a regulatory filing.

The company stressed that it is a separate and independent listed entity with no business or financial linkage to Reliance Communications, which has been undergoing insolvency proceedings since 2019.

It pointed out that Anil Ambani has not been on RInfra’s board for more than three-and-a-half years, while RCom is under the supervision of a committee of creditors led by State Bank of India and overseen by a resolution professional.

The matter, it added, remains sub judice before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), other judicial forums and the Supreme Court for the past six years.

Earlier this week, Reliance Communications disclosed that it had received a letter from Bank of Baroda dated September 2 informing it of the lender’s decision to classify the company’s and Ambani’s account as “fraud”.

The bank had sanctioned loans and credit lines worth Rs 2,462.50 crore to RCom, of which Rs 1,656.07 crore remains outstanding.

The account was declared non-performing on June 5, 2017, and BoB has cited forensic audit findings for the fraud classification.

Ambani’s spokesperson has denied the allegations, stating that he was a non-executive director of the company until 2019 and had no role in its day-to-day operations.

Previously, State Bank of India and Bank of India had also tagged RCom and Ambani’s accounts as ‘fraud’.

Reliance Infrastructure said it continues to focus on its business plans and remains committed to creating value for all stakeholders.