Bank of Baroda Tags RCom and Anil Ambani’s Loan Accounts as Fraud

September 5, 2025

New Delhi: In a fresh blow to Anil Ambani and his debt-laden Reliance Communications, Bank of Baroda (BoB) has officially classified the loan accounts of both RCom and its erstwhile director Anil D. Ambani as “fraud,” according to a regulatory filing by the company.

The classification covers loans taken prior to the initiation of RCom’s insolvency resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). RCom clarified that these loans fall under the ambit of the ongoing resolution process and will be addressed as per the approved resolution plan, now awaiting approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

BoB’s action compounds the mounting legal troubles for Reliance Communications. The company is already under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in relation to alleged loan frauds totaling around Rs 17,000 crore.

Once a bank classifies an account as fraudulent, the borrower becomes ineligible to access fresh financing from banks and regulated financial institutions for a period of five years—a measure under banking regulations aimed at curbing fund misuse.

The fraud tag from BoB comes on the heels of similar actions by other prominent public sector lenders. In a stock exchange disclosure earlier this year, Bank of India (BoI) had labeled an outstanding Rs 724.78 crore loan—taken by RCom and guaranteed by Anil Ambani—as fraudulent, citing alleged fund diversion and breaches of sanction terms. The State Bank of India (SBI) had also previously taken similar steps in June, triggering further investigations including CBI raids and ED scrutiny.

Meanwhile, the market has reacted sharply; shares of Reliance Communications, Reliance Infrastructure, and Reliance Power fell up to 5%, hitting their lower circuit limits following BoI’s fraud warning.