CBI Names 11 Accused in Second Reliance Home Finance Chargesheet

The chargesheet was filed before the Special Judge for CBI Cases in Mumbai. The agency has alleged offences including criminal conspiracy and cheating under the Indian Penal Code.

The individuals named include Amit Bapna, Director and Chief Financial Officer of Reliance Home Finance; Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, Group Managing Director and Vice Chairman of Reliance Capital; and Suresh Nagarajan, Chief Financial Officer of Reliance Power. Chartered accountant Vijay Napawaliya, who served as RHFL's statutory auditor, has also been named as an accused.

The seven companies named in the chargesheet are Reliance Infrastructure Ltd., Reliance Power Ltd., Reliance Big Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd., Reliance Business Broadcast News Holdings Ltd., Reliance MediaWorks Financial Services Pvt. Ltd. and Kunjbihari Developers Pvt. Ltd.

According to the CBI, its investigation has so far found that ₹7,429.16 crore borrowed by Reliance Home Finance was allegedly routed through intermediary and conduit entities to companies associated with the Reliance ADA Group.

The agency has alleged that the transactions were carried out in breach of conditions imposed by lenders, resulting in what it described as losses for banks and financial institutions and corresponding gains for the accused and related entities. These remain allegations contained in the investigation and chargesheet.

The CBI originally registered the case following complaints from Union Bank of India, formerly Andhra Bank, and other public sector banks that were part of the lending consortium.

The agency filed its first chargesheet in the RHFL case on July 9, naming four accused. With the latest filing, 15 accused, including individuals and group companies, have now been chargesheeted in the case.

The CBI said its investigation remains ongoing and that it is examining the roles of other individuals as well as additional allegations.

The RHFL case forms part of a wider investigation by the CBI's Banking Securities Fraud Branch in Delhi. The agency has registered nine FIRs involving Reliance Communications, Reliance Home Finance, Reliance Commercial Finance, Reliance Telecom and Reliance Capital following complaints from public sector banks, the Life Insurance Corporation of India and the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation.

The CBI said the latest filing is its seventh chargesheet in cases involving Reliance ADA Group entities. Seven arrests have been made across the broader set of investigations, according to the agency.

The investigations are being monitored by the Supreme Court.