Anil Ambani writes to FM seeking Sandesara kind settlement package

Debt-ridden industrialist Anil Ambani sought Sandesara's kind haircut package and cancellation of all cases from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. According to Anil Ambani’s supplementary counter affidavit filed to Supreme Court on Monday, he had written to the Finance Minister on March 19. He also marked the letter’s copy to the SBI and Bank of Baroda heads.

“The precedent set by the Supreme Court itself in the Sterling Biotech/Sandesara matter — where the court approved a full and final settlement for a family of declared fugitive economic offenders who had fled India, closing all FIRs and CBI proceedings, withdrawing Interpol Red Corner Notices, releasing attached properties, and absolving liability of seven individuals and seven companies — upon a one-time settlement of Rs 5,100 crore.

“I have not been declared a fugitive. To the contrary, I have given an undertaking to this Hon’ble Court that I will not leave the country without its permission,” argued Anil Ambani, seeking Sandesara's kind package. Anil Ambani said If a structured resolution was achievable for individuals outside India’s jurisdiction who had been declared fugitives, it is both pragmatically and legally possible in his case — where he has remained in India, cooperated with courts, and actively supported insolvency proceedings. He describes himself as “the first and only promoter in India to actively support the CIRP process” for Reliance Capital.

Anil Ambani said the Supreme Court cancelling telecom license had collapsed his telecom business, like Videocon and Aircel. The collapse of IL & FS frozen the liquidity of many finances company, including Reliance Capital, which was once a top-end AAA credit rating until October 2018; it defaulted only in October 2019 as a direct consequence of the IL&FS-triggered liquidity mismatch, argued the industrialist, narrating his company’s crisis.

The Reliance Group has also been under CBI and Enforcement Directorate scrutiny for nearly ten months, resulting in the provisional attachment of over Rs 15,000 crore in group assets — described as the largest single attachment in the Enforcement Directorate’s history. The document States this has resulted in a loss of over Rs 25,000 crore in market value, directly affecting over 50 lakh small retail shareholders, said the affidavit, citing the letter to Finance Minister Sitharaman and heads of SBI and Bank of Baroda.

On Monday, appearing for Anil Ambani, Advocate Mukul Rohatgi said that due to the Public Interest Litigation filed former Government Secretary ESA Sarma, represented by Prashant Bhushan, no bankers are not taking to him, though he wanted to have a negotiation to settle the dues.

In November 2025, the bench headed by Justices JK Maheswari and Vijay Bishnoi approved the proposal given to the Government in sealed cover to give a one-time settlement of the Sandesara Group. As per the settlement, all criminal cases against fugitives Nitin and Chetan Sandesaras will be withdrawn and the attached properties will be returned by ED. The OTS allowed was for Rs 5,100 crore, while the Group was facing bank dues of more than Rs 19,000 crore. ED has attached their Rs 13,000 crore worth assets and they were facing cases for bribery, perjury and creation of fake Albanian passport to flee the country along with family.