The Rise and Fall of Anil Ambani

Anil Ambani, once India’s rising corporate star not just within the country but also globally, was raided by the Enforcement Directorate early on July 24^th, in connection with money laundering allegations linked to an investigation into the Yes Bank fraud case. More than 50 companies belonging to the Anil Ambani Reliance group, spread over 35 locations in Delhi and Mumbai were raided. This move by the ED has not only created concern in corporate circles, given that Ambani was seen close to the ruling establishment. But it has not raised a of suprise.

ED has said that its investigation leads it to believe that between 2017 and 2019, Yes Bank gave loans worth Rs 3,000 crore which were diverted into shell companies and other group firms and also alleges that Yes Bank officials could have been bribed.

The younger Ambani though has been in a series of controversies and cases after he split the Reliance group in 2006, leaving one part with elder brother Mukesh, after the patriarch Dhirubhai Ambani died in 2002. Anil got control of telecommunications, power, infrastructure, financial services, and entertainment sectors, including companies like Reliance Communications, Reliance Capital, Reliance Infrastructure, and Reliance Power. Anil was once ranked among the world's richest individuals, with a peak net worth that placed him as the sixth richest person globally. He became a household name with this early morning runs along Mumbai’s Marine Drive, a flamboyant lifestyle not seen earlier with the Ambanis and of course, his movie star wife, Tina.

Anil Ambani also gave a big boost to India’s corporate capabilities on the global stage when he acquired Adlabs Films in 2005 (renamed Reliance MediaWorks in 2009) and a $1.2 billion joint venture with Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks in 2008, contributing to films like the Academy Award-winning Lincoln.

From riding the high tide of corporate success and popularity that few businessmen had seen in the pre-social media era, things went into a steep decline for the younger Ambani – the extent that he was labelled a fraud by the State Bank of India in June 2025.

It was around 2019-2020 that Anil Ambani's financial troubles became prominent as his companies struggled with massive debts. In February 2020, he declared bankruptcy before a UK court, stating that his net worth had plummeted from $42 billion to nearly nothing, largely due to the collapse of his business ventures. This was a significant fall from his earlier status as a billionaire.

One of the jewels in his crown, Reliance Communications or Rcom, once a major player in India's telecom industry, faced severe financial distress due to intense competition. The disruption was largely due to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio, which disrupted the telecom market. RCom underwent significant downsizing and restructuring, with a failed attempt to sell its wireless assets to Reliance Jio for an estimated $3 billion. In 2019, India’s Supreme Court ruled that Anil Ambani could face jail time if RCom failed to repay $77 million owed to Ericsson, though the company complied with the order.

Hit with debt

Between 2019 and 2025, Anil Ambani sold assets worth approximately ₹73,250 crore to repay bank debts across Reliance Group companies. These sales included cement (₹8,000 crore), power distribution (₹18,000 crore), Mumbai land (₹10,000 crore), Reliance Capital (₹24,000 crore), insurance/mutual funds (₹21,000 crore), and road projects (₹9,000 crore). This was part of an effort to clear debts and avoid further legal repercussions. In March 2022, Anil had to step down from the boards of Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Power, a move seen to avoid or delay the increasing financial and legal pressures.

In between, in 2024, The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) banned Anil Ambani from the securities market for five years, along with three key officials and 23 associated companies, on charges of diverting funds. This was a significant blow to his ability to operate in India’s financial markets. In less than a year, State Bank of India (SBI) classified Reliance Communications and Anil Ambani as "fraud" following a forensic audit that revealed loan amounts were diverted and misused. SBI planned to file a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The company got some relief from the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) by staying insolvency proceedings, and the company received a three-notch credit rating upgrade due to significant debt reduction. But the fraud classification and ongoing investigations continued to haunt and hobble Anil Ambani’s businesses

In the recent months, there has been some uptick in Anil Ambani’s business ventures. Reliance Power reported a profit of ₹44.68 crore in Q1 FY26 (2025) and reduced its debt to an industry low, driven by clean energy wins and legal relief. The company also secured two mega power projects in Bhutan (a 500-MW solar project and a 770-MW hydropower project). However, Reliance Infrastructure sold its power business to the Adani Group, indicating a contraction in its portfolio.

Reliance Defence, a part of Reliance Infrastructure, secured a ₹600 crore export order from German defence giant Rheinmetall and partnered with US-based Coastal Mechanics to upgrade over 200 aircraft and helicopters in India. In 2017, Reliance Group launched a defence production unit in Mihan-SEZ, Nagpur, in a joint venture with Dassault Aviation to produce components for Rafale warplanes and Falcon business jets.

His own personal worth recovered from the brink of becoming non-existent. At a personal net worth of $3 billion, it not anywhere near what it was but it was better than his 2020 bankruptcy declaration.

Reliance Group remains active in power, defence, and infrastructure, but its telecom and entertainment businesses have largely collapsed or been scaled back. The group’s listed companies, including Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure, continue to face financial volatility and regulatory scrutiny

But these latest raids and charges of fraud will again create a layer of uncertainty and instability for a man once seen as the future of India Inc.