CBI files first chargesheet in Rs 4,097-crore Reliance Commercial Finance bank fraud case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday filed its first chargesheet in the Rs 4,097-crore bank fraud case involving Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL) before a special CBI court in Mumbai. The chargesheet names seven accused, including two companies — Reliance Infrastructure Ltd and Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) — and five former senior executives of RCFL.

The accused individuals are: Devang Pravin Mody, former director and CEO of RCFL; Ravindra Somayajula Rao, former director; Dhananjay Bhagwanprasad Tiwari, former director; Rajesh Krishnamoorthy, former executive risk officer; and Lav Chaturvedi, former chief risk officer. They have been charged with criminal conspiracy and cheating, with the alleged intention of causing huge losses to public sector banks.

According to the CBI, its investigation revealed that funds borrowed by RCFL were allegedly diverted through intermediary and conduit entities to various Reliance ADA Group companies. This diversion, the agency claims, violated the terms and conditions governing the borrowings. The alleged diversion resulted in a wrongful loss of Rs 4,097 crore to a consortium of 13 public sector banks, while conferring corresponding wrongful gains on the accused and related entities.

The case was registered based on complaints from Bank of Maharashtra and other public sector banks that were part of the lending consortium. The CBI stated that further investigation is ongoing to ascertain the role of other directors, entities, and public servants who may have been involved in causing losses to the banks. Supplementary chargesheets are expected to be filed as the investigation progresses.