CBI Arrests Former Reliance Capital CFO Amit Bapna In Alleged ₹9,280 Crore Bank Fraud Case

Mumbai, July 4, 2026: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday arrested Amit Bapna, former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Reliance Capital Ltd (Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group), in connection with its probe into the alleged Rs 9,280-crore bank fraud involving companies of the group.

Bapna, who was lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail in a separate Enforcement Directorate (ED) case, was brought to Mumbai on a production warrant and formally arrested before the Special CBI Court. The court remanded him to CBI custody till July 7, observing that custodial interrogation was necessary for an effective investigation into the alleged conspiracy.

CBI Alleges Loan Diversion

The CBI alleged that Bapna, who served as CFO of Reliance Capital between August 2014 and December 2019, was among the key executives overseeing the company's financial affairs. According to the agency, he facilitated and approved loans to intermediary and conduit companies despite knowing that such transactions violated Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines and the sanction conditions governing borrowings from public sector banks.

The agency alleged that funds borrowed by Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL) were routed through intermediary entities and diverted to other Reliance ADA Group companies, including Reliance Capital Ltd, Reliance Infrastructure Ltd and Reliance Power Ltd. According to the CBI, the alleged diversion resulted in wrongful losses to lending banks while conferring corresponding wrongful gains on the accused persons and related entities.

Custody Sought By Agency

Seeking Bapna's custody, the CBI told the court that the case originated from a complaint lodged by Bank of Maharashtra in November 2025. The agency informed the court that after registration of the FIR, 31 consortium banks and financial institutions subsequently approached the agency alleging that loans sanctioned to RCFL had been diverted instead of being utilised for their sanctioned purpose. According to the CBI, a forensic audit estimated the alleged fraud at around Rs 9,280 crore involving loans extended by 31 banks, financial institutions, non-banking finance companies and corporate lenders.

The agency further alleged that Bapna, along with other accused, was part of a larger conspiracy involving unknown public servants to siphon off public funds. It submitted that his custodial interrogation was necessary to establish the alleged modus operandi, identify the role of other accused and public servants, trace the money trail, and confront him with material collected during the investigation, including evidence gathered following the arrests of other accused.

Defence Opposes Custody

Appearing for Bapna, senior counsel Abaad Ponda opposed the CBI's plea for custodial interrogation, arguing that the agency had failed to justify invoking provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act as neither the FIR nor the investigation had identified any public servant. He contended that the allegations arose from commercial lending transactions and submitted that several lending institutions had already resolved their claims through proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). Relying on a recent Supreme Court judgment, Ponda argued that where financial disputes had been settled through the insolvency process, continuation of criminal proceedings was not warranted. He further submitted that the CBI had failed to demonstrate any compelling grounds necessitating custodial interrogation.

The court observed that Bapna served as CFO during the period under investigation and, given the nature of his position, the investigating agency should be given an opportunity to question him regarding the alleged financial transactions. The court held that the defence's objections relating to the applicability of penal provisions would have to be considered at a later stage and granted the agency four days' custody of Bapna.

Multiple FIRs Registered

The agency has registered seven FIRs against Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom), Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL), Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL) and Reliance Telecom Ltd (RTL) on complaints filed by public sector banks and the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). The investigations are being monitored by the Supreme Court.

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In May this year, the CBI filed its first chargesheet in the RCom case against 16 accused, including the company, five senior executives and 10 bank officials. With Bapna's arrest, the agency has so far arrested six accused in the Reliance ADA Group-linked bank fraud investigations.

The Reliance ADA Group had not issued any official statement on Bapna's arrest till the time of publication.

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