India regulator rejects Anil Ambani settlement bid over $691 million misuse claim

India’s markets regulator has rejected settlement applications filed by Anil Ambani and his corporate group over allegations that 65.26 billion rupees, or about $691 million, were misused at Reliance Infrastructure.

SEBI’s settlement framework, set out in the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Settlement Proceedings) Regulations, 2018 and last amended on November 28, 2024, allows some matters to be resolved without adjudication and, in practice, without an admission of wrongdoing. In this case, SEBI rejected the plea and pointed to parallel investigations by other Indian enforcement agencies.

The allegations center on claims that company funds were routed to entities linked to Ambani, the controlling shareholder, for personal interests rather than public shareholders. Ambani’s spokesperson denied the allegations and said the group would continue to defend its position as legally advised.

In August 2025, the regulator turned down his plea in a separate case tied to Yes Bank investments, where the potential penalty was estimated at 1,828 crore rupees. That matter involved 21.5 billion rupees, or $245.3 million, invested by Reliance Mutual Fund in Yes Bank additional tier-1 bonds between 2016 and 2019, and SEBI found it had a market-wide impact.

The company’s board approved a fundraising plan in July 2025 that included 6,000 crore rupees of equity raising and 3,000 crore rupees of debt issuance. In May 2026, it again disclosed plans to consider long-term resources, including as much as 3,000 crore rupees through equity issuance.

In November 2025, the Enforcement Directorate attached more than 40 properties valued at over 3,084 crore rupees linked to the group, and attached assets totaled more than 7,500 crore rupees in a money-laundering probe. In June 2026, the ED arrested former group executives Sateesh Seth and Gautam Doshi in related cases.