File Image
After State Bank of India and Bank of India, another lender Bank of Baroda has classified the loan account of insolvent Reliance Communications as fraudulent and named its former director, tycoon Anil Ambani, citing alleged misutilisation of loans granted more than a decade back, according to a regulatory filing.
RCom said it has received a letter from BoB dated September 2 conveying its decision to classify the loan account of the company and promoter Anil Ambani as “fraud”.
Bank of Baroda had sanctioned Rs 1,600 crore and another Rs 862.50 crore in line of credit to the company. Of the total Rs 2,462.50 crore, Rs 1,656.07 crore remains outstanding as on August 28, according to the lenders’ letter disclosed by RCom in the regulatory filing.
“The account was classified as non-performing asset (NPA) with effect from June 5, 2017,” the letter said.
While RCom is undergoing corporate insolvency resolution proceedings to find a suitor to take over the company and clear its liabilities, BoB in the letter said currently there is no active resolution plan that is approved by the NCLT.
It went on to state that the declaration of fraud is based on findings/observations in forensic audit reports and “such classification is in line with the principles of natural justice”.
In a statement, a spokesperson of Ambani said the action of Bank of Baroda pertains to matters dating back more than 12 years.
“It is pertinent to note that Anil D Ambani served as a non-executive director on the board of RCom from inception in 2006 until his resignation from the board in 2019, over six years ago,” it said.
“He was never an executive director or a KMP of the company, and had no role whatsoever in the day-to-day operations or decision-making of the company,” it said.
Stating that RCom had a lender consortium comprising 14 banks, it said, “after an inordinate lapse of more than 10 years, select lenders have now chosen to initiate proceedings in a staggered and selective manner targeting Mr Ambani”.
