The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) announced the arrest of Amit Bapna, the former Chief Financial Officer of Reliance Capital Ltd, in relation to the ongoing investigation into the cases involving the Reliance ADA Group. Bapna, who held the CFO position at Reliance Capital Ltd from August 2014 to December 2019, was identified as a key decision-maker responsible for overseeing the company’s financial matters.
According to the CBI, Bapna allegedly approved loans to intermediary and conduit companies despite knowing that such actions violated RBI guidelines and the terms governing borrowings from public sector banks. The investigation uncovered that funds borrowed by Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) were channeled through these intermediary entities to various Reliance ADA Group companies, leading to losses for the lending banks and gains for the accused individuals and related entities.
Bapna, who was already in judicial custody under an Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation, was transferred to the CBI’s custody following a Production Warrant issued by a Special CBI Court in Mumbai. The court granted the CBI four days to further interrogate Bapna, who was formally arrested on July 4.
The CBI has initiated seven FIRs against entities like Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCom), Reliance Home Finance Ltd. (RHFL), Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd. (RCFL), and Reliance Telecom Ltd. (RTL) based on complaints from public sector banks and the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). The Supreme Court is overseeing the investigation, with the CBI having filed its first chargesheet in the RCom case on May 29 against 16 accused, including the company, senior RCom executives, and bank officials.
With Bapna’s arrest, the total number of individuals arrested in connection with the Reliance ADA Group cases by the CBI has reached six. The agency confirmed that further investigations are ongoing.
