Mumbai: The CBI has arrested top executive of Reliance Communication Group, Amitabh Jhunjhunwala for causing a loss of over 6,000 crore to an SBI-led consortium of banks. He was the Group Managing Director of Reliance Communications group at the relevant time and was controlling the affairs of important functions like corporate finance, banking and utilisation of funds, according to a CBI statement issued on Monday.
Jhunjhunwala coordinated with senior formations of the bank for loans and advances. Based on his directions, loan funds received from the banks were managed or utilised by other officials of the Rcom group. It is alleged that due to misutilisation of loan funds, the banks suffered wrongful losses.
He was instrumental in getting loans from various banks. As the company did not pay the amounts back, the accounts have become NPAs (non-performing assets). He was taking instructions from the promoters of the Reliance Communications Group companies, the statement said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered this FIR on the basis of a complaint received from the State Bank of India against Reliance Communications Limited and Anil D. Ambani for allegedly causing a loss of Rs. 2,929.05 crore to the bank.
Term Loans were sanctioned to Reliance Communications Limited by the consortium of 11 banks led by the State Bank of India, who together suffered a loss of 6,015 crores. Further, as per the complaint, the total exposure towards RCom amounted to Rs. 19,694.33 crore involving 17 PSU Banks.
CBI has also registered another 6 FIRs against RCom, RHFL, RCFL and RTL based on the complaints given by various public sector banks and LIC. These cases are under investigation. The investigation of these cases is being monitored by the Supreme Court.
Amitabh Jhunjhunwala was in judicial custody in a case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate, Delhi, and was lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail. In order to take him into custody in the present case, production warrants were obtained from the Special Judge, Mumbai.
The jail authorities had referred the accused to AIIMS, New Delhi, for a medical examination. Following examination by the Medical Board of AIIMS, Jhunjhunwala was declared fit to travel. Accordingly, he was brought to Mumbai and produced before the Court, Mumbai, on June 1.
After his production, the CBI affected his formal arrest, which was taken on record by the Court. Thereafter, the accused was remanded to judicial custody in the RCom case of the CBI and sent to Arthur Road Jail. His police custody petition will be taken up tomorrow, the statement explained.
The CBI had filed its first chargesheet in the Rcom case on 29th May 2026 against 16 accused which included the company, five senior executives of RCom and 10 bank officials.
(IANS)
