SBI To Recover Rs 1,200 Crore From Anil Ambani

SBI to recover Rs 1,200 crore from Anil Ambani, a loan given to RCom and Reliance Infratel. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has ordered an insolvency process against Reliance Communications (RCom) chairman Anil Ambani. This process has been initiated under the section relating to the personal guarantee of insolvency law.

1,200 crore is to be recovered from Anil Ambani under this process. State Bank of India (SBI) had given loans to Reliance Communications (RCom) and Reliance Infratel in the year 2016. Anil Ambani had given a personal guarantee for this loan. But both companies could not pay the debt.

The Mumbai bench of NCLT said in an order issued on Thursday this week that RCom and Reliance Infratel – both these companies defaulted in debt payments around January 2017. After that both the loan accounts were put in the list of stranded debts (NPAs) from the period of August 26, 2016. However, there was also no loan agreement between the two companies and SBI at that time.

In its order, the NCLT said that the loan was taken and both the accounts were declared NPA, there is no scope for objection. But the way the NPA was declared NPA from the period before the loan agreement and the respondent (Anil Ambani) did not even object to it is absurd. However, the NCLT has ordered the appointment of a resolution professional in the matter and has asked the SBI to take necessary steps.

The NCLT has also stated that no action will be taken until the reconciliation process is accepted under insolvency, assuming it would be wrong. The reason for NCLT saying this is that under the insolvency process, there is a clear provision for separate procedures to be run on the borrower company and its personal guarantor. However, a spokesperson from Ambani said that NCLT order is being studied.

Thereafter a petition will be filed against this order in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (Enclat). According to the spokesperson, the NCLT has rejected SBI’s demand to stop Anil Ambani from selling properties. The appointment of a resolution professional has also been ordered to study the insolvency process petition of SBI against Anil Ambani. Based on this study, he should report to NCLT.