Investigative news platform Cobrapost has alleged that the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) has been involved in a ‘massive banking fraud amounting to more than ₹28,874 crore’ since 2006.
The report claims that several listed ADAG companies systematically diverted funds that they had raised through bank loans, initial public offerings (IPOs), and bonds.
According to the Cobrapost investigation, the group allegedly routed an additional $1,535 million (approximately ₹13,047 crore) raised abroad back to India through dubious means.
The report names NexGen Capital, which purportedly advanced $750 million to Emerging Market Investments & Trading Pte (EMITS) of Singapore, under a temporary arrangement with Reliance Innoventures, the holding company of the ADAG conglomerate.
Offshore Fund Diversion and Money Laundering Allegations
Cobrapost’s investigation further claims that the group channelled the entire $750 million to India and made it disappear, using several subsidiaries to divert the funds to Reliance Innoventures.
The report asserts that such transactions may qualify as money laundering under Indian law.
Another $785 million, allegedly raised through external commercial borrowings (ECBs), reportedly went into various ADAG companies, bringing the total offshore inflow to $1.53 billion (₹13,047 crore).
The report estimates that the total sum involved, including domestic and foreign transactions, could exceed ₹41,921 crore.
Cobrapost has claimed that its findings point to violations of several statutes, including the Companies Act (2013), the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the SEBI Act, and the Income Tax Act.
Reliance ADAG Issues Strong Rebuttal
Responding to the allegations, the Reliance ADAG Group dismissed the Cobrapost expose as a ‘malicious and agenda-driven campaign’.
In an official statement, the company said that the report was a deliberate attempt to ‘damage the group’s reputation and mislead stakeholders’.
It also alleged that Cobrapost’s recent revival had been ‘fully funded by entities with direct commercial interests in acquiring Reliance Group assets’.
Cobrapost stated that its findings were based on extensive examination of statutory records, regulatory filings, and official documents sourced from multiple agencies, including the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
It also referenced foreign court documents and publicly available filings to substantiate its claims.
The portal claimed to have identified 26 offshore entities allegedly used for routing funds, with locations of at least 14 of these shell companies verified.
“We have been as meticulous and diligent as possible in extracting, collating, interpreting and verifying data from all these sources,” Cobrapost said in its report.
While the full extent of the allegations is yet to be independently verified, the report has reignited discussions on corporate governance, regulatory oversight, and transparency in India’s financial sector.
The ADAG Group’s strong rebuttal and the magnitude of the sums involved suggest that the controversy is likely to attract significant scrutiny from financial regulators and investigative agencies in the days ahead.
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