Anil Ambani assures Supreme Court he will not leave India without permission

Industrialist Anil Ambani has filed an undertaking before the Supreme Court that he will not leave India without prior permission of the Court and will continue to cooperate with investigating agencies in connection with probe against him for large-scale bank fraud by Reliance Communications (RCOM) its group entities [EAS Sarma Vs Union of India]..Ambani is currently being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the fraud. The undertaking by Ambani was filed in response to a public interest litigation petition filed by one EAS Sarma..The undertaking was filed after the Supreme Court on February 4 recorded a statement by Ambani's lawyer, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, that Ambani would not travel abroad without the Court’s permission. .In the compliance affidavit, Ambani formally reiterated the assurance and placed it on record as an undertaking before the Court. He stated that he has not left India since July 2025, when the present investigations began, and currently has no intention to travel abroad. He further undertook that if any requirement for foreign travel arises, he will seek prior permission from the Court before undertaking such travel..The affidavit emphasised that Ambani has been cooperating with investigating agencies and will continue to do so. It stated that he has been summoned by the Directorate of Enforcement and has undertaken to appear and join the investigation on the scheduled date. The affidavit also said that his examination under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 is currently underway during the pendency of proceedings before the Supreme Court. Ambani clarified that his role in the companies concerned was only that of a non-executive director and that he was not involved in their day-to-day management or operational affairs..Bank fraud: Anil Ambani to not leave India; Supreme Court orders ED to set up SIT.According to the petition before the Court, RCOM and its subsidiaries - Reliance Infratel and Reliance Telecom - received loans amounting to ₹31,580 crore between 2013 and 2017 from a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India (SBI).As per the plea, a forensic audit commissioned by SBI revealed substantial diversion of funds, including thousands of crores used to repay unrelated loans, transfers to related parties, investments in mutual funds and fixed deposits that were immediately liquidated, and complex circular routing of money to disguise evergreening of loans.The plea has asserted that the FIR registered by the CBI on August 21, 2025, and the connected ED proceedings cover only a fraction of the alleged wrongdoing. According to the petition, the agencies are not investigating the roles of bank officials and regulators despite detailed forensic audits and independent reports pointing to widespread fraud.As per the petitioner, only judicial oversight can ensure that a matter involving such extensive public money exposure is thoroughly investigated.On February 4, the Supreme Court directed the Enforcement Directorate to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the allegations.The Court also directed CBI to ensure that any possible collusion by bank officials in the alleged fraud is investigated..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.