Anil Ambani, chairman of the Reliance Group, has said he is shocked by the State Bank of India (SBI) labelling Reliance Communications’ (RCom) loan account as “fraud.” The statement came on Wednesday, 2 July 2025, through his legal team.
The action was taken by SBI’s Fraud Identification Committee (FIC), which issued an ex-parte order—meaning Ambani was not given a chance to respond before the decision was made.
Ambani’s lawyers, Agarwal Law Associates, said SBI had not replied to any of their communications for nearly a year. “Our client is shocked to receive this ex-parte order after almost a year of no response from the bank,” the lawyers said in their letter sent to SBI.
The legal team also pointed out that SBI’s show cause notice—sent earlier to Ambani and his company—was based on rules that had since changed. They explained that on 15 July 2024, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) updated its Master Directions on loan classification. These new directions replaced the older ones, under which the original notice was sent.
Because of this change in RBI rules, Ambani’s legal team argued that the notice was no longer valid. They said the bank should now withdraw the fraud label.
They also said that the long silence from SBI had led Ambani and his team to believe that the matter was closed and the bank had accepted their explanation.
Reliance Communications, once a major telecom player, had faced financial trouble and was taken to bankruptcy court in the past. This recent move by SBI adds new legal pressure.
Ambani’s legal team is now waiting for a response from SBI. They say the order is unfair and were not given a chance to explain their side before the decision.
The matter may now move to court if the issue is not resolved between the two sides.
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