CBI arrests former Reliance Capital CFO Amit Bapna in Mumbai over Rs 9280 crore fraud
On Saturday, July 4, 2026, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Amit Bapna, the former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Reliance Capital Ltd, in Mumbai. The arrest was made in connection with an ongoing investigation into an alleged Rs 9,280-crore bank fraud and loan diversion case involving companies of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group.
Bapna, who was previously lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail for a separate Enforcement Directorate (ED) case, was brought to Mumbai on a production warrant. He was formally arrested before the Special CBI Court, which remanded him to CBI custody until July 7, 2026, for custodial interrogation.
According to the CBI, Bapna served as the CFO of Reliance Capital between August 2014 and December 2019. The agency alleged that he facilitated and approved loans to intermediary and conduit companies, despite knowing these transactions violated Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines and the sanction conditions of public sector banks.
The CBI alleged that funds borrowed by Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL) were routed through intermediary entities and diverted to other Reliance ADA Group companies, including Reliance Capital Ltd, Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, and Reliance Power Ltd. This alleged diversion resulted in wrongful losses to lending banks and wrongful gains to the accused and related entities.
The case originated from a complaint lodged by the Bank of Maharashtra in November 2025. Following the registration of the FIR, 31 consortium banks and financial institutions approached the CBI, alleging that loans sanctioned to RCFL were diverted instead of being used for their sanctioned purpose. A forensic audit estimated the total fraud at approximately Rs 9,280 crore.
During the court proceedings, the CBI argued that Bapna's custodial interrogation was necessary to establish the modus operandi, identify the roles of other accused and public servants, trace the money trail, and confront him with gathered evidence.
Senior counsel Abaad Ponda, representing Bapna, opposed the CBI's plea. He argued that the agency failed to justify invoking the Prevention of Corruption Act since no public servants had been identified. Ponda also contended that the allegations arose from commercial lending transactions and that several lending institutions had already resolved their claims through the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
The Special CBI Court observed that Bapna served as CFO during the period under investigation. Given his position, the court held that the agency should be allowed to question him regarding the transactions, granting the CBI four days of custody.
