SEBI rejects Anil Ambani, Reliance Infra bid to settle ₹6,526‑cr case

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has rejected settlement applications filed by Reliance Infrastructure Limited and its promoter Anil Ambani in a ₹6,526‑crore fund diversion case, setting the stage for full adjudicatory proceedings before the market regulator.

According to Reuters, SEBI declined requests under its settlement mechanism to close proceedings arising out of alleged routing of ₹6,526 crore from Reliance Infrastructure to entities linked to the controlling shareholder through contractor CLE. 

The regulator has characterised the transactions as “mis‑utilisation of company funds” and is pursuing a show‑cause notice issued in 2025 seeking restoration of the amount to Reliance Infrastructure with interest from 2018.

SEBI’s settlement framework under SEBI Act read with the Settlement Proceedings Regulations permits compounding of proceedings without admission of guilt. 

However, the Board retains discretion to reject an application, particularly where market‑wide impact or serious fraud‑like features are alleged. 

In this particular case, SEBI has reportedly cited the seriousness of the alleged diversion and the involvement of other investigative agencies as reasons to refuse a consensual resolution at this stage.

The case concerns RIL’s long‑standing financial exposure of ₹6,526 crore to engineering contractor CLE Pvt Ltd. SEBI alleges that Reliance Infrastructure diverted far larger sums to CLE over several years and that CLE, in turn, channelled substantial amounts into firms linked to the Anil Ambani–led Reliance ADA Group.

The regulator had also rejected a separate settlement request by Ambani in relation to alleged irregularities in investments in Yes Bank in 2025.