New Delhi: A string of probes related to the alleged diversion of thousands of crores from the flagship companies of the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group has now reached the doorstep of the famous Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and Medical Research Institute in Mumbai.
Managed and run by Anil Ambani’s wife Tina, the hospital is a legacy business of the Ambani family, named after Kokilaben Ambani, mother of Anil and Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries.
While Reliance Group companies and their former employees are within the ambit of the probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Mandke Foundation, which runs the hospital, is now under scrutiny of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).
Foundation director Tina Ambani and her younger son Jai Anshul Ambani, former director, were both summoned by the SFIO Wednesday and Thursday. Earlier, Anil Ambani had also been questioned by both the CBI and ED in cases related to these firms.
The Delhi High Court Thursday rejected the Mandke Foundation’s plea seeking copies of the government order directing the SFIO to conduct an investigation under the purview of the Companies Act against Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) and Reliance Communications.
“Having heard learned counsels appearing for the parties at length, this court is of the opinion that the proceedings being conducted by the SFIO are presently at a preliminary stage. The notice dated 11.04.2026 issued by the SFIO only called upon the petitioner to furnish information and documents, under Section 217 of the Companies Act,” Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma observed in her order.
The judge added that the notice itself records that the Centre has directed investigation into the affairs of RHFL and other related companies and “informs the petitioner that, upon analysis of bank transactions and financial statements of the companies under investigation, it was found that the petitioner-company had directly or indirectly entered into financial transactions with such companies”.
“It is on that basis that the petitioner was called upon to furnish the documents specified in the notice dated 11.04.2026,” the judge observed, rejecting the argument of Mandke Foundation that it was left unaware of the nature of investigation being carried out by the SFIO.
According to proceedings before the Delhi High Court, the Mandke Foundation had received a notice from the SFIO asking it to submit bank statements, financial records and other documents pertaining to the fiscal period from 2008-09 to 2025-26, and details of its dealings with group companies RHFL and Reliance Communications.
“It is informed that the analysis of bank account transactions and financial statements of Companies Under Investigation (CUIs) revealed that your company/entity had directly/indirectly entered into financial transactions with CUI/CUIs. Therefore… you are directed to provide soft copies of the details/documents for the time period FY2008-09 to FY2025-26,” the SFIO asked the Mandke Foundation in its notice.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs had in October and November last year directed the SFIO to probe, under section 212 of the Companies Act, the affairs of RHFL and RCom, prompting the foundation that runs the charitable hospital to furnish all its financial details, including its dealings with the two companies under investigation.
Section 212(1) of the Companies Act empowers the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to order the SFIO to probe a company in public interest.
According to the court order, Mandke Foundation was first served notice by the SFIO on 11 April this year, followed by a reminder on 27 May, asking them to submit the required information by 5 June.
The foundation, the Delhi High Court noted, responded to the SFIO’s notice, agreed to cooperate with the investigation and sought six weeks’ time to collate and provide the required information.
However, it sought copies of the ministry orders and did not provide the documents sought by the June date, prompting the SFIO to summon Tina and Jai Ambani, the court observed.
ThePrint has reached the spokesperson of Kokilaben Hospital as well as that of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group for comments. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
CBI & ED probe
The CBI has, meanwhile, arrested two former employees of RHFL—CEO Ravindra Sudhalkar and director Amit Bapna—and charged the firm, along with other senior executives, in a bank fraud case.
According to the CBI’s probe, funds amounting to thousands of crores borrowed by RHFL were diverted through intermediary and conduit entities to various Reliance Group companies, in violation of the terms and conditions governing such borrowings, causing a consortium of 10 banks led by Union Bank of India a loss to the tune of Rs 3,526 crore.
In the separate and specific case against RCom, the CBI has so far filed two chargesheets against the firm itself and former executives, alleging losses to banks amounting to Rs 19,694 crore.
The ED has so far arrested eight former senior executives of Reliance Group and has filed four prosecution complaints detailing the diversion of loan funds and their recoupment for purposes beyond the stated objective of the loan.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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