MUMBAI: The market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has taken stringent action against industrialist Anil Ambani and 24 other entities, including former key officials of Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL), by banning them from the securities market for five years.
This decisive move follows SEBI’s findings of a fraudulent scheme that orchestrated diversion of funds from RHFL to entities close to Anil Ambani and his coterie .
In its comprehensive 222-page order, SEBI detailed how Anil Ambani, in collaboration with RHFL’s top executives, managed the misappropriation of funds by disguising them as loans to entities linked to him.
Despite clear directives from RHFL’s Board of Directors to cease such practices and ensure proper governance, the management, influenced by Ambani, continued these unethical activities, according to the Sebi report.
Penalties
As part of the penalties, SEBI has imposed a Rs25 crore fine on Anil Ambani and barred him from holding any directorial or key managerial position in any listed company or intermediary registered with the regulator for the duration of the ban.
Additionally, RHFL itself has been prohibited from engaging in securities market activities for six months and faces a fine of Rs6 lakh.
Governance failure
Furthermore, SEBI has imposed substantial fines on key individuals and entities involved in the scheme, including Rs27 crore on Amit Bapna, Rs26 crore on Ravindra Sudhalkar, and Rs21 crore on Pinkesh R Shah. Several other entities within the Reliance group have also been fined Rs25 crore each.
Talking to businessbenchmark.news, a market expert said, “SEBI’s enforcement highlights significant governance failures within RHFL, driven by key personnel under Ambani’s influence, and underscores the regulator’s commitment to maintaining integrity in the securities market.”
