The Central Bureau of Investigation has added another name to the growing list of arrests in the Reliance ADA Group fraud investigation. The CBI arrested Amit Bapna, former Chief Financial Officer of Reliance Capital Limited, on July 4, 2026, in connection with its ongoing probe into alleged loan diversion and bank fraud involving companies linked to Anil Ambani’s Reliance ADA Group. Bapna, who served as CFO of Reliance Capital from August 2014 to December 2019, was already lodged at Tihar Jail in New Delhi in a separate case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate. The CBI obtained a production warrant from the Special Judge for CBI Cases in Mumbai, had him produced before the Special CBI Court, and formally arrested him. The court granted the agency four days of police custody for further interrogation.
With this arrest, the CBI has now arrested six accused persons in the Reliance ADA Group cases. For the past two months, the CBI and ED together have arrested more than seven top officials of Anil Ambani’s companies.
“CBI arrests former CFO of Reliance Capital Ltd, Amit Bapna, in bank fraud case. He served as CFO from August 2014 to December 2019. The CBI has so far arrested six accused persons in the Reliance ADA Group cases.”~ANI
What The CBI Alleges: Loans To Shell Companies, Funds Diverted Across Group
The CBI’s investigation has revealed a specific and serious pattern of conduct attributed to Bapna during his tenure. He allegedly facilitated and approved loans to intermediary and conduit companies despite being aware that such lending was contrary to RBI guidelines and the sanction conditions governing borrowings from public sector banks.
Investigation further revealed that funds borrowed by Reliance Commercial Finance Limited were diverted through such intermediary entities to various Reliance ADA Group companies, including Reliance Capital Ltd., Reliance Infrastructure Ltd., and Reliance Power Ltd. thereby causing wrongful loss to the lending banks and corresponding wrongful gain to the accused persons and related entities. Put simply, money that was borrowed from public sector banks using RCFL as the borrowing entity was allegedly routed through a chain of shell and intermediary companies before landing with other group entities bypassing the conditions under which those loans were sanctioned.
“CBI Arrests Ex-Reliance Capital CFO Amit Bapna In Loan Diversion Case, Sent To 4-Day Custody. He served as CFO from August 2014 to December 2019 and was already in Tihar Jail in a separate ED case.”~Republic World
Seven FIRs, 16 Accused In Chargesheet, And A Growing Arrest List:
The Bapna arrest is part of a sweeping investigation that the CBI has been building for years. The agency has registered seven FIRs against Reliance Communications Limited, Reliance Home Finance Limited, Reliance Commercial Finance Limited, and Reliance Telecom Limited, based on complaints received from various public sector banks and the Life Insurance Corporation of India.
The CBI filed its first chargesheet in the RCom case on May 29, 2026, naming 16 accused persons including the company itself, five senior executives of RCom, and ten bank officials. The inclusion of bank officials in the chargesheet is significant, as it signals that the CBI believes the alleged fraud was enabled not just by Reliance insiders but by individuals within the lending institutions who allegedly facilitated or ignored the red flags.
“CBI arrests ex-Reliance Capital CFO Amit Bapna over alleged loan diversion. He allegedly approved loans to intermediary firms contrary to RBI guidelines. Funds were diverted to Reliance Capital, Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Power.”~Telangana Today
Anil Ambani’s ADA Group Under Multi-Agency Siege:
The arrest of Bapna arrives against the backdrop of sustained and escalating multi-agency pressure on the Reliance ADA Group. The group’s various entities once among India’s most ambitious conglomerates have been through insolvency proceedings, asset sales, and successive leadership exits over the past several years.
The CBI has registered seven FIRs involving four entities from the group, spanning telecommunications, housing finance, commercial lending, and telecom infrastructure. The parallel ED investigation which had already placed Bapna in judicial custody before the CBI’s production warrant adds a money laundering dimension to the allegations that extends beyond the pure banking fraud angle the CBI is pursuing. Together, the two agencies are building what appears to be a comprehensive case covering both the origination of the alleged fraud and the subsequent movement of funds.
The claimed losses to public sector banks and LIC resulting from the misuse of funds across the group’s enterprises are represented by the ₹9,280 crore number mentioned in relation to this case. The conclusion of these trials has far-reaching implications for the banks concerned, which are all public sector organizations whose depositor base is ultimately supported by Indian taxpayers.
