Sebi bars Anil Ambani, 3 others from markets for alleged siphoning of funds

TIL Desk/National/Mumbai/ Sebi on Friday restrained Reliance Home Finance Ltd, industrialist Anil Ambani and three other individuals from the securities market for allegedly siphoning off funds from the company.  The three other individuals are Amit Bapna, Ravindra Sudhakar and Pinkesh R Shah.

In a 100-page interim order, the regulator also restrained the individuals from “associating themselves with any intermediary registered with Sebi, any listed public company or acting directors/ promoters of any public company which intends to raise money from the public till further orders.”

The order, pertaining to alleged siphoning off of funds from the company, has been passed against a total of 28 individuals and entities (noticees).  The focus of the Sebi probe was to broadly look into the manner in which loans were dispersed by Reliance Home Finance Ltd during 2018-19 to several borrowing entities.  

Sebi noted that the root of the present proceedings can be traced to multiple sources, inter alia, a letter of Price Waterhouse & Co addressed to RHFL intimating their resignation as the statutory auditor of the company; and complaints received by Sebi alleging siphoning off/diversion of funds of RHFL by promoters and management of the company.  

There were multiple Fraud Monitoring Returns from banks alleging, among others, that funds borrowed by RHFL from different lenders were partly used towards repayment of loans, the regulator said.