The Supreme Court on Wednesday placed strict curbs on the foreign travel of industrialist Anil Ambani, directing that he shall not leave the country without prior permission of the court, as it expressed serious concern over delays in probing alleged banking and corporate frauds linked to the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) involving an estimated ₹40,000 crore.
Hearing a public interest petition that flagged apprehensions of flight risk and investigative inertia, the court made it clear that liberty to travel abroad would be conditional on judicial approval until the ongoing probes reach a logical conclusion. The bench also issued firm directions to the Supreme Court of India’s investigating arms to step up pace and transparency.
The court pulled up the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate over what it termed “unexplained and avoidable delays” in examining multiple complaints from banks and financial institutions against ADAG entities. It ordered both agencies to conduct a fair, impartial and expeditious investigation and to file a fresh status report within four weeks detailing progress across all strands of the case.
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Alleged diversion of funds under scanner
According to submissions placed before the court, the alleged fraud relates to large-scale diversion and misutilisation of bank loans and corporate borrowings raised by various ADAG companies over several years. The total exposure under scrutiny is pegged at around ₹40,000 crore, spanning multiple lenders and transactions.
Investigators have told the court that loans extended to group companies were allegedly routed through layered transactions, shell entities and related-party dealings, raising red flags of round-tripping and siphoning of funds. A significant portion of the exposure pertains to Reliance Communications, which defaulted on massive dues and subsequently entered insolvency proceedings.
The ED has estimated the proceeds of crime in the case at over ₹20,000 crore, a figure that the court said warrants a comprehensive, bank-by-bank examination rather than a narrow, complaint-driven approach.
ED attachments, CBI lapses noted
The ED informed the court that assets worth ₹8,078 crore linked to the alleged proceeds of crime have already been provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. These include properties, shares and other financial holdings traced to entities and individuals connected with the group.
The bench, however, voiced dissatisfaction with the CBI’s handling of the matter, noting that despite complaints from several lenders, only one FIR had been registered in 2025, reportedly on the basis of a single bank’s complaint. The court observed that when different banks allege distinct transactions and loan accounts, separate FIRs are ordinarily required to reflect the full scope of alleged wrongdoing.
It underlined that procedural shortcuts risk weakening prosecutions in complex financial crimes and directed the agency to revisit its approach in line with settled legal principles.
Special probe team ordered
In a significant step, the court directed the ED to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to exclusively handle the ADAG-related cases, citing the scale of the alleged fraud and the multiplicity of transactions involved. The SIT has been asked to coordinate with other agencies, collate data from all concerned banks, and ensure that attachment and prosecution proceedings move in parallel.
On the issue of potential foreign travel, counsel appearing for Ambani assured the court that he would not leave India without permission. Recording the assurance, the bench converted it into a binding direction.
The matter will be taken up next after the agencies submit their updated status reports. Until then, the court said, it expects measurable progress, signalling that continued delay could invite stricter judicial oversight in one of the country’s largest alleged corporate fraud probes.
About the author – Rehan Khan is a law student and legal journalist with a keen interest in cybercrime, digital fraud, and emerging technology laws. He writes on the intersection of law, cybersecurity, and online safety, focusing on developments that impact individuals and institutions in India.
