Reliance Capital: India’s RBI to start bankruptcy procedure

BENGALURU: India’s central bank said on Monday it would initiate bankruptcy proceedings against Reliance Capital Ltd, superseding the non-banking financial company’s board on governance concerns. Chaired by Anil Ambani, the younger brother of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Capital has welcomed the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) move to resolve the firm’s debt in accordance with the insolvency and bankruptcy code.

The company said it would co-operate with the RBI-appointed administrator, Nageswar Rao Y, a former executive director at Bank of Maharashtra Ltd. In June 2019, auditors raised several red flags around Reliance Capital’s fourth-quarter results, including a lack of clarity in its accounting methodology.

The firm has since then failed to make several debt and interest payments on debentures. Reliance Capital said that despite its best efforts for the past two years, complex legal battles and litigation rising from certain lenders have stalled the company’s plans to resolve its debt.