Reliance Home Finance Fraud: SEBI Slaps Rs624.06 Crore Penalty on 27, Bars 24 including Anil Ambani from Markets for 5 Years

 Coming down heavily on Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL), Anil D Ambani, the chairperson of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) group, several key managerial personnel (KMPs) and ADA group companies, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has slapped a penalty of Rs624.06 crore on 27 entities. While barring 24 entities, including Mr Ambani, from the securities market for five years, SEBI also restrained the ADA group chief and KMPs of RHFL from being appointed as directors or associated with any listed company. RHFL was found extending general-purpose corporate loans (GPCL) to group entities with weak financials and to potentially indirectly linked entities (PILE). A forensic audit by Grant Thornton (GT) found that during the review period, Rs14,577.68 crore was disbursed as GPCL, out of which about 88.76% of loans were disbursed to PILE, amounting to Rs12,487.56 crore. As of 31 October 2019, the loans disbursed to PILE were around Rs7,984.39 crore—out of which loans having total dues of Rs2,727.59 crore were declared as non-performing assets (NPAs) on 31 October 2019.

In an order, Ananth Narayan G, whole-time member (WTM) of SEBI, says, "This is also a peculiar case where the Company's management has brazenly defied the diktat of its own board that had raised concerns about GPCL lending and asked the company management to ensure compliance with the law. By a preponderance of probability, the mastermind behind the fraudulent scheme is the chairman of ADAG –Anil Ambani. It is also apparent that Amit Bapna (non-executive director and chief financial officer-CFO), Ravindra Sudhalkar (executive director -ED and chief executive officer-CEO) and Pinkesh R Shah (CFO), KMPs of the Company, played an active role in perpetrating the fraudulent scheme."

"While Anil Ambani was not a director in RHFL, he has used his position as 'chairperson of the ADA group' and his significant indirect shareholding in the holding Company of RHFL to orchestrate the fraud thereby not just adversely affecting RHFL's stakeholders but also the confidence in the integrity of governance structures in regulated financial sector entities," the SEBI WTM says.

The SEBI order says, as a director and a KMP of both the listed company as well as its holding company, Mr Bapna has clearly fallen well short of the standards of governance that were expected from him. "The 'watchman' appointed by the board to arrest the continuing decline in the financial stability of the public listed company turned out to be part of the group that executed the fraudulent scheme."

"Similarly, Mr Sudhalkar was the central point of communication between the board of directors, all the personnel involved in corporate operations of the Company, and with all the senior management personnel like chief regulatory officer-CRO, operational heads and company secretary who were reporting to him. This order has elaborated on his direct involvement in the fraud by approving the 'loans' to ineligible customers, defying the decision of RHFL's board, and his wanton non-compliance with the legal mandate to make true and fair disclosures."

SEBI says RHFL continued to disburse large quantums of GPC loans despite Mr Bapna, Mr Sudhalkar and Mr Shah being directly aware of the board's directions not to do so. "Both Mr Sudhalkar and Mr Shah had also signed off on CEO and CFO certifications, actively hiding the true state of affairs in RHFL. Noticee Nos6-28 have played the role of being either recipients of illegally obtained loans or conduits to enable illegal diversion of monies from RHFL."

Ananth Narayan, the SEBI WTM, observed that credit defaults in financing business are not by themselves unusual or suggestive of fraudulent activity and inter-corporate loans or related party transactions (subject to disclosures and compliance with law) are also not per se illegal or suspicious. However, he says the facts and circumstances of this case clearly indicate that the defaults are the culmination of an elaborate and coordinated design to move funds from the publicly listed company to non-descript and financially weak privately held companies connected with the Reliance ADA group.

"Adequate disclosures around this were not made to the public shareholders of RHFL, evidenced by the absence of any material disclosures mandated by securities law. SEBI's investigation was not the only one to arrive at this conclusion. Separately, the reports of Price Waterhouse & Co LLP -PW (RHFL's statutory auditor) and that of GT (forensic auditor appointed by lead bank of a consortium of creditors of RHFL–Bank of Baroda) have also arrived at similar conclusions," he added.

SEBI imposed the highest penalty of Rs27 crore on Mr Bapna, followed by Rs26 crore on Mr Sudhalkar, Rs25 crore on Anil Ambani and Rs21 crore on Mr Shah.

The market regulator also slapped a penalty of Rs25 crore each on 21 entities. They include Adhar Project Management and Consultancy Pvt Ltd, Indian Agri Services Pvt Ltd, Phi Management Solutions Pvt Ltd, Arion Movie Productions Pvt Ltd, Citi Securities and Financial Services Pvt Ltd, Deep Industrial Finance Ltd, Azalia Distribution Pvt Ltd, Vinayak Ventures Pvt Ltd, Gamesa Investment Management Pvt Ltd, Medybiz Pvt Ltd, Hirma Power Ltd, Tulip Advisors Pvt Ltd, Mohanbir Hi-TechBuild Pvt Ltd, Netizen Engineering Pvt Ltd, Crest Logistics and Engineers Pvt Ltd (now known as CLE Pvt Ltd), Reliance Unicorn Enterprises Pvt Ltd, Reliance Exchange next Ltd, Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd, Reliance Cleangen Ltd, Reliance Business Broadcast News Holdings Ltd and Reliance Big Entertainment Pvt Ltd.

Earlier in April this year, holding an audit firm and two chartered accountants (CAs) guilty of professional misconduct, the national financial reporting authority (NFRA) imposed a penalty of Rs1.60 crore on them for showing negligence in the audit of RHFL for FY18-19, despite red-flags issued by the other auditor firm.

The other auditor, PW, had reported suspected fraud regarding loans worth Rs7,900 crore disbursed by RHFL to financially weak group companies without appropriate business rationale and diverting these funds. On 11 June 2019, PW resigned as auditor of RHFL.

Despite being a housing finance company regulated by the National Housing Bank (NHB), RHFL advanced loans under the category GPCL to group companies with significant deviations from their lending policy. The outstanding amount of GPCL, as of 31 March 2019, amounted to Rs17,849.89 crore as per the financial statements.

"These loans were stated as secured by a charge on the current assets of borrowers. The majority of the Company's borrowers had undertaken onward lending transactions and the borrowings from the Company were used, inter alia, for repayment of financial obligations by some of the group companies. The previous auditor PW reported issues with the recoverability, end use and business rationale of these loans," NFRA observed. (Read: Reliance Home Finance: NFRA Slaps Rs1.60 Crore Penalty on Dhiraj & Dheeraj, 2 CAs for Negligence in Audit for FY18-19)

http://publications.lnu.edu.ua/journals/files/journals/8/articles/5293/submission/original/5293-6931-1-SM.html
http://journals.hnpu.edu.ua/files/journals/12/articles/15593/submission/original/15593-48216-1-SM.html
https://portal.uaptc.edu/ICS/icsfs/togel-online-raih-kemenangan-dan-peluang-besar.html?target=c44d10e7-f7eb-4009-927f-be94b78bc22e
https://www.aun.edu.eg/fci/sites/default/files/research_project/memanfaatkan-teknologi-layanan-efisien-togel-online.pdf
http://dayawane.ihep.ac.cn/twiki/bin/view/Sandbox/TogelOnline:MerevolusiDuniaLotere
https://ucgp.jujuy.edu.ar/profile/brookmcgowan/
https://portalvirtual.muniventanilla.gob.pe/course/2068/about
http://www.gimnazija-ivanjica.edu.rs/mobilearn/claroline/phpbb/viewtopic.php?forum=2&topic=1269&cmd=exNotify&cidReset=true&cidReq=THELINE123
https://edms.energy.gov/EM/Lists/Comprehensive%20Survey/Item/displayifs.aspx?List=d8d96ab2-6e9c-41d2-97a9-df5fad225d61&ID=17506
https://osisat.edu.ng/elearning/profile/luannegilmore/
https://milkyway.cs.rpi.edu/milkyway/show_user.php?userid=7511982
https://www.gov.bn/Lists/eDarussalam%20Survey/DispForm.aspx?ID=148704
http://portal.nurse.cmu.ac.th/computer/Lists/Survey/DispForm.aspx?ID=56626&Source=http%3A%2F%2Fportal%2Enurse%2Ecmu%2Eac%2Eth%2Fcomputer%2FLists%2FSurvey%2FAllItems%2Easpx%3FView%3D%7Bb19d61fb%2Ddf59%2D46b0%2D8021%2D625802c18820%7D%26SortField%3DModified%26SortDir%3DDesc
https://www.kzntreasury.gov.za/Lists/FRAUD%20RISK%20ASSESSMENT%20QUESTIONNAIRE/DispForm.aspx?ID=93084
https://www2.sgc.gov.co/participacion/Lists/PQRD/DispForm.aspx?ID=28943
https://www.aerocivil.gov.co/atencion/participacion/encuesta/Lists/Rendicin%20de%20Cuentas%202017/DispForm.aspx?ID=100686
https://www.egnc.gov.bn/Lists/ComplaintCategories/AllItems.aspx?View={92203BE5-DE70-4914-8805-3E2E36AC25BF}&FilterField1=LinkTitle&FilterValue1=Selami%20Toto12%3A%20Panduan%20Perjudian%20Komprehensif
https://nationaldppcsc.cdc.gov/s/profile/005SJ000002gWITYA2
https://escuelageneralisimo.edu.pe/lms-user_profile/13585
https://vspmdcrc.edu.in/LMS/profile/tabathadoran/
http://hospital.ju.edu.jo/Lists/Renewal_res/DispForm.aspx?ID=13591
https://www.egresadosudistrital.edu.co/virtualcourses/forums/topic/teknologi-meningkatkan-kecepatan
http://www.monofeya.gov.eg/citizens/cases/Lists/List38/DispForm.aspx?ID=63264
http://idb.uwu.ac.lk/discussion/detail/251192
https://library.kemu.ac.ke/kemuwiki/index.php/Peran_Bandar_Togel_Online_Dijelaskan
https://caf.vass.gov.vn/noidung/hoidap/Lists/DanhSachCauHoi/DispForm.aspx?ID=15962
https://files.hcuc.edu.gh/participant/lesheard/
https://learndash.aula.edu.pe/miembros/karankirby/
https://www.belrea.edu/candidate/milescrain/
https://ckan.apps-teste.ufvjm.edu.br/tr/user/bradmelton
https://elearning.southwesternuniversity.edu.ng/members/karindale/activity/90011/
https://www.egresadosudistrital.edu.co/virtualcourses/forums/users/fernandodupree
https://www.uniatlantico.edu.co/profile/johnathonguy/
https://fundaciontalitakumi.edu.gt/author/natividadkoch/
https://careers.fitcollege.edu.au/candidate/cirece5722/
https://www.marlan.edu.pe/members/johnathonguy/activity/5646/
https://colegiosanjoseobrero.edu.ar/author/ramonhaynes/
https://www.iteandes.edu.co/author/donaguidry/
https://test.elit.edu.my/author/breannaspence/
https://www.colmayor.edu.co/foro/profile/jasminebradford/
https://lms.cime.edu.mx/author/nikitagibbons/
http://metis.lti.cs.cmu.edu:8023/jungfuentes
https://agromania.edu.pe/profile/wiltonstout/
https://triumph.srivenkateshwaraa.edu.in/profile/wilmerhanley
https://qzhp.unitir.edu.al/profile/rodrigomurdock/
https://tmis.mcpmed-ti.edu.eu/participant/jamiehartley/
http://omlp.sedici.unlp.edu.ar/user/rosalinaclay
https://dados.ufca.edu.br/user/changrushing
https://data.gov.kg/user/eddiecourtney
https://opendata.agrinio.gov.gr/user/trishadawson
https://rciims.mona.uwi.edu/user/tamimaher
https://datosabiertos.sanjuan.gob.ar/user/jeanlandry
https://conselhos.teresopolis.rj.gov.br/user/nicolettehawk
https://data.dniprorada.gov.ua/user/normanddoran