RCom Case: Anil Ambani Blames Select Banks For Targeting Him—Here's What He Said

Reliance Dhirubhai Ambani Group Chairman Anil Ambani on Friday said he is being "selectively targeted" in a staggered manner by select banks, a day after Bank of Baroda declared him and the loan accounts of insolvent Reliance Communications Ltd. as "fraud".

In a statement, a spokesperson for Ambani said he was not an Executive Director or a key managerial person of RCom, and had no role in the day-to-day operations or decision-making of the company, citing the matter pertains to 2013.

"It is pertinent to note that Mr. Anil D. Ambani served only as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of RCom from inception in 2006 until his resignation from the Board in  2019... After an inordinate lapse of more than 10 years, select lenders have now chosen to initiate proceedings in a staggered and selective manner targeting Ambani," the spokesperson said.

RCom said the loans referred to by Bank of Baroda pertain to the period before the corporate insolvency resolution process of the company. As per the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, they are required to be "necessarily resolved as a part of a resolution plan or in liquidation", a regulatory filing said.

The company is under the control of the resolution professional and Ambani has ceased to be its director, it noted. RCom is seeking "legal advice" on the way forward with respect to the action taken by Bank of Baroda.

"Anil D. Ambani categorically denies all allegations and charges and shall pursue remedies available to him in accordance with legal advice," the spokesperson said.

In June, the State Bank of India tagged the loan account of RCom as fraud. This was followed by a similar action by Bank of India on Aug. 24, which classified the loan account of RCom as fraudulent and named Ambani, citing alleged fund diversion in 2016.