Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has imposed a five-year ban on industrialist Anil Ambani and 24 other parties, including former senior executives of Reliance Home Finance, from participating in the securities market. This action is a result of their involvement in the misdirection of company funds.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) also imposed a fine of 250 million rupees (about $3 million) on Ambani, saying he orchestrated a scheme to “siphon off” funds from Reliance Home Finance Ltd.
The regulator said the “fraudulent” scheme was to “siphon off” funds from Reliance Home by structuring them as ‘loans’ to credit-unworthy borrowers.
Most of these borrowers were linked to large shareholders with the ability to influence company decisions, the SEBI added.
An email to Anil Ambani-led Reliance group spokesperson were not answered immediately. A spokesperson for Reliance Capital, the holding company, declined to immediately comment.
The Reliance Group was created in July 2006 following a demerger from Reliance Industries Ltd, which is led by Anil’s brother Mukesh Ambani.
Reliance Home Finance’s shares fell 5% after the news. ($1 = 83.8620 Indian rupees)
