Large defaulters list: Big corporates, banks connive to‘leak’ public money
A day after The Pioneer reported on the large defaulters’ list of public sector banks based on data from TransUnion CIBIL, the database was taken down on Monday morning. Partial data was restored later in the day.
The list of large defaulters across 11 Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) banks totals over INR 29 lakh crore. Two banks — State Bank of India and Union Bank of India — together are staring at INR 15.75 lakh crore in defaults. Union Bank alone faces INR 9.96 lakh crore in defaults, while SBI’s exposure stands at INR 5.79 lakh crore. A large share of these loans were reportedly sanctioned without recoverable collateral.
Several defaulting companies secured loans by pledging shares, whose prices were allegedly inflated in stock markets. Many of these pledged shares have since been liquidated or sharply corrected during proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
Among the largest defaulters are Anil Ambani and his companies, with loans amounting to INR 48,282 crore from both public and private lenders, including National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), which oversees rural and cooperative banks.
Ambani is listed as a personal guarantor in few loans. Records show variations in his name — including “Anil D Ambani” and “Anil Dhirajlal Ambani” — while in many cases company staff are listed as directors and guarantors, complicating recovery efforts.
Data from TransUnion CIBIL shows 13 banks extended about 70 loans to Ambani and his firms. Central Bank of India alone sanctioned six loans worth INR 3,046 crore to the now-defunct Reliance Naval and Engineering Limited.
The bank later issued six loans totaling INR 1,582 crore to Reliance Communications. The company had dues of about INR 48,000 crore and was acquired through insolvency by his brother Mukesh Ambani for just INR 430 crore.
During hearings related to the Anil Ambani’s loan fraud cases, Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant remarked that the insolvency process had “become a mockery.” The case was filed by former Government Secretary EAS Sarma and argued by advocate Prashant Bhushan.
SBI sanctioned the largest number of loans to Ambani-linked firms, often splitting them into smaller amounts and sometimes through banking consortia. The bank extended 16 loans totaling INR 13,633 crore to companies including Reliance Communications, Reliance Naval, Reliance Telecom and Reliance Infratel.
Union Bank of India granted 11 loans worth INR 6,724 crore to Reliance Communications, Reliance Telecom and Reliance Naval. Federal Bank extended seven loans totaling INR 1,976 crore to Anil Ambani’s US-based film production firm Reliance Big Entertainment (US) Inc.
Other lenders included IFCI, UCO Bank, Axis Bank, Punjab and Sind Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and Karur Vysya Bank. NABARD also filed a civil suit against Reliance Commercial and Finance Limited for defaulting on a INR 1,106 crore loan.
According to officials from the Enforcement Directorate, the agency has already attached assets worth over INR 20,000 crore belonging to Ambani and his companies. After filing charge sheets — which may increase following intervention by the Supreme Court of India — the 13 banks may approach courts to claim their dues of INR 48,282 crore from the attached assets.
