The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has banned industrialist Anil Ambani and 24 other entities, including key former officials of Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL), from the securities market for five years. This action is in response to allegations of fund diversion from the company.
SEBI imposed a penalty of ₹25 crore on Ambani, who is also barred from holding any directorial or key managerial position in any listed company or market intermediary during this period. Additionally, RHFL has been fined ₹6 lakh and barred from the securities market for six months.
In its comprehensive 222-page order, SEBI found that Ambani, along with RHFL’s key personnel, orchestrated a fraudulent scheme to siphon off funds from RHFL under the guise of loans to entities connected to him. Despite the board’s strong directives to halt these practices, the management of RHFL ignored these orders, reflecting a significant governance failure driven by Ambani’s influence.
The order further highlighted that other entities involved either received these unlawfully obtained loans or facilitated their diversion from RHFL. Fines ranging from ₹21 crore to ₹27 crore were levied on former RHFL officials Amit Bapna, Ravindra Sudhalkar, and Pinkesh R Shah for their roles in the fraudulent activities.
This decision comes after an interim order in February 2022, where SEBI had initially restrained RHFL, Anil Ambani, and three others from the securities market due to the alleged fund siphoning.
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Source: Moneycontrol
News Desk
