Securities market regulator SEBI recently imposed a 5-year ban and hefty fine on industrialist Anil Ambani for alleged fund misuse involving one of his former companies. According to a statement from his spokesperson, Ambani is now reviewing the order and will take appropriate action.
SEBI had found Ambani and several others guilty of diverting loans worth thousands of crores from Reliance Home Finance (RHFL), once a part of his Reliance Capital group. A penalty totaling Rs 625 crore was imposed on 27 individuals and entities. Ambani was banned from stock markets and holding board positions for 5 years.
RHFL used to focus on housing, property and construction loans. It was under investigation for over two years over complaints of siphoning funds within the company. Loans given by RHFL to corporates had increased significantly between 2017-18 to 2018-19.
Ambani's spokesperson said he has already resigned from boards of other Reliance firms in February 2022 as per SEBI's interim order back then. The statement mentions he will now study options regarding SEBI's final ban order from last week. Industry observers say appealing to the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) could be one path for him.
Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Power also issued clarifications that the order does not impact their operations as they were not part of the case. Ambani's earlier resignation from their boards was simply to comply with the temporary SEBI directive two years ago.
