A local court on Wednesday remanded Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, former Group Managing Director of Reliance Communications, in the custody of the CBI till June 5 in an alleged bank loan fraud case. According to reports, Jhunjhunwala was produced before special CBI court judge J P Darekar on Wednesday, with the CBI seeking his custody for detailed investigation. The CBI, represented by special public prosecutors A Limosin and Jitendra Sharma, made the custody plea following his arrest on Monday. As per the CBI Spokesperson, "He was brought to Mumbai and produced before the court on June 01, 2026. After his production, the CBI effected his formal arrest, which was taken on record by the court. Thereafter, the accused was remanded to judicial custody in the RCom case of the CBI and sent to Arthur Road Jail. His police custody petition will be taken up tomorrow (Tuesday)". The arrest comes just days after the agency filed its first chargesheet in the RCom fraud case on May 29, naming 16 accused, including the company, five former senior executives and ten bank officials.
The CBI had filed its first chargesheet in the RCom case on May 29, 2026, against 16 accused, including the company. As reported by officials, Jhunjhunwala was not named in the chargesheet filed in the special court, but the investigation against him was ongoing. The accused named in the chargesheet included Reliance Communications, five senior executives of the company and 10 bank officials. They were charged with criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misappropriation under the IPC, and criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act, according to the CBI press release. The chargesheet pertained to alleged misuse of a ₹1,200 crore term loan sanctioned by the SBI, ₹500 crore letter of credit facilities sanctioned by Bank of Maharashtra and ₹350 crore letter of credit facilities sanctioned by Syndicate Bank. The court is expected to hear the CBI's plea requesting his active police custody on Tuesday.
The alleged fraud involves a substantial loss of ₹2,929.05 crore caused to the State Bank of India by Reliance Communications, with the CBI alleging that Jhunjhunwala acted as the primary liaison with senior banking officials to secure loans and advances for the company. According to investigators, Jhunjhunwala held central control over critical financial operations, including corporate finance, banking relations, and the deployment of funds. As per the CBI, "Jhunjhunwala, as group Managing Director of Reliance Communications, a Reliance ADAG firm, controlled key aspects of the company's functioning including corporate finance, banking and utilization of funds. Loan funds received from banks were utilized as per his instructions, the CBI alleged, adding that misuse of these funds caused the banks wrongful losses". The CBI alleges that once these loan funds were obtained, they were managed and routed by other RCom Group officials, resulting in extensive wrongful losses to lenders through systematic misutilisation. Because the company ultimately failed to clear its dues, these accounts were downgraded to Non-Performing Assets (NPAs). A consortium of 11 banking institutions led by SBI had sanctioned term loans to Reliance Communications Limited, collectively incurring alleged losses of ₹6,015 crore. The total financial exposure toward RCom stands at ₹19,694.33 crore, spanning 17 public sector banks. As per the CBI Spokesperson, "The consortium of 11 banks, led by the State Bank of India, together suffered a loss of 6015 crore. According to the complaint, the total exposure towards RCom amounted to Rs. 19,694.33 crore involving 17 PSU Banks". The root of the investigation stems from a formal complaint lodged by the State Bank of India against Reliance Communications Limited and Anil D Ambani.
Beyond the primary case, the CBI has registered six additional FIRs against RCom, RHFL, RCFL, and RTL following separate complaints from various public sector financial institutions and the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). These interconnected cases remain under active investigation under the direct monitoring of the Supreme Court. The CBI confirmed it filed its first formal chargesheet in the RCom matter on May 29, 2026, naming 16 accused parties. The agency further alleged that Jhunjhunwala acted on directions from the promoters and directors of Reliance Communications group companies during the period under investigation, stating "He was taking instructions from the promoters and directors of the Reliance Communications Group companies". The CBI claims that Jhunjhunwala played a key role in managing the group's corporate finance and banking operations, including the utilization of funds obtained through loans from a consortium of banks, and coordinated with senior bank officials to secure loans and oversaw the deployment of funds within the Reliance Communications group.
