Latest News

  • Home
  • National
  • One-time billionaire Anil Ambani says he's now worth nothing
One-time billionaire Anil Ambani says he's now worth nothing
Monday, February 10, 2020 IST
One-time billionaire Anil Ambani says he

"The value of my investments has collapsed. I don't hold assets which can be liquidated,” Ambani said.
 

 
 

The brother of Asia’s richest man was ordered to set aside $100 million in his dispute with three Chinese banks, even as he pleaded poverty.
 
“The value of my investments has collapsed,” Anil Ambani said, according to a London court filing by banks seeking around $700 million in defaulted loans. “My net worth is zero after taking into account my liabilities. In summary, I do not hold any meaningful assets which can be liquidated for the purposes of these proceedings.”
 
The lawsuit was filed by three state-controlled Chinese banks, which argue that they provided a loan of $925 million to Ambani’s Reliance CommunicationsNSE -6.67 % Ltd. in 2012 with the condition that he personally guarantee the debt. Ambani’s comments were disclosed as he tried to avoid depositing hundreds of millions of dollars with the court ahead of a trial.
 
On Friday evening, Judge David Waksman ordered Ambani to put up $100 million into the court’s account within six weeks. Ambani plans to appeal.
 
The embattled Indian tycoon says that while he agreed to give a non-binding “personal comfort letter,” he never gave a guarantee tied to his personal assets -- an “extraordinary potential personal liability.”
 
The 60-year-old is the brother of Mukesh Ambani, who’s worth $56.5 billion and is the wealthiest man in Asia. Anil, on the other hand, has seen his personal fortune dwindle over recent years, losing his billionaire status. His Reliance Communications filed for bankruptcy last year.
 
Anil has “clearly got more assets and income than he’s letting on,” the judge said. “What I’m dealing with is an extraordinarily wealthy family who have helped each other in the past.” Waksman said he didn’t believe that Ambani’s family “have firmly and irrevocably brought the shutters down.”
 
Ambani’s lawyer, Robert Howe, had argued that the court shouldn’t order his client to make a payment he can’t cover. The tycoon argues that that an order requiring him to do so would hinder his ability to defend himself in the case, Howe said.
 
“Mr. Ambani is reviewing the order of the U.K court and will take legal advice as to further remedies in appeal,” representatives for Ambani’s Reliance Group said.

 
 

‘Opportunistic Attempt’
 
Bankim Thanki, an attorney representing Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China, said in a filing that Ambani’s statements are “plainly a yet further opportunistic attempt to evade his financial obligations to the lenders.”
 
“We hope that Mr. Ambani will comply with the court’s order and look forward to the swift resolution of the case at trial,” the banks said in a statement.
 
Ambani was caught up in another legal wrangle last year, when India’s Supreme Court threatened him with prison after Reliance Communications failed to pay to pay 5.5 billion rupees ($77 million) to Ericsson AB’s Indian unit. The judges gave him a month to find the funds, and his brother, Mukesh, stepped in just in time to make the payment.
 
The brothers’ relationship has been fraught since their father’s death left behind a vast empire that was split between them. While Mukesh’s oil and petrochemicals businesses have flourished, Anil’s assets dwindled.
 
Anil said in a filing that he recognized that the judge would want to know if he could satisfy any order to put up funds from outside resources, including his family.
 
“I can confirm that I have made enquiries but I am unable to raise any finance from external sources,” he said.
 
Waksman had said in an earlier ruling that he believed Ambani’s defense would be shown to be “opportunistic and false.”
 
Ambani’s lawyer told the judge that as a result of the comments the tycoon’s relatives were unlikely to lend any funds.
 
There is a “very substantial risk they will never get it back,” Howe said.
 
“The order pertains to an alleged personal liability of Mr. Ambani and will have no bearing on the operations of the Reliance Infrastructure Ltd., Reliance Power Ltd. and Reliance Capital Ltd.,” Ambani’s representatives said.

 
 
 
 
 

Related Topics

 
 
 

Trending News & Articles

 Article
Here is the full list of 827 porn websites banned by the DoT

While the Uttarakhand High Court has asked to block 857 websites, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) found 30 portals without any pornographic content. ...

Recently posted . 61K views . 1 min read
 

 Article
Class XII Boys Raped 16-Year-old in Dehradun School After Watching Porn on Phone: Police

The four boys as well as five school officials, including the director and principal, were arrested after the incident. The minors were presented before the Juvenil...

Recently posted . 8K views . 1 min read
 

 Article
Sept 27,2001 Rahul Gandhi and his girl friend Veronique,was arrested in Logan airport in Boston

Rahul was having an Italian passport and was carrying suitcase full of dollars. Some say it was about was it $2 million. Rahul and his girl friend was th...

Recently posted . 7K views . 7 min read
 

 Article
TOP 10 GYM EQUIPMENT BRANDS IN INDIA 2017

True – Tr...

Recently posted . 6K views . 83 min read
 

 
 

More in National

 Article
Is There More to Arvind Kejriwal Expressing Solidarity With Congress CM in Puducherry?

The show of solidarity in Puducherry, AAP leaders said, would also be the beginning of the party’s campaign on statehood.

Recently posted. 580 views . 0 min read
 

 Article
Explained: Why are Tamil Nadu’s districts being split?

When a new district is created, the government has to invest in infrastructure to set up the District Collectorate Building, the office of the Superintendent of Pol...

Recently posted. 641 views . 1 min read
 

 Article
Understudy's name changed from Kite to Patang and Mumbai University software is to blame

If you are a University of Mumbai student with a surname for example, 'More', "Pant" or 'Kale', you might be in for an unexpected when y...

Recently posted. 1K views . 13 min read
 

 Video
Mahatma Gandhi's Poverty Is Very Costly



Recently posted . 803 views
 

 Photo
Ever Wondered How India Looks From Space



Recently posted . 1K views
 

 Reviews
Ocean Golden I, Greater Noida West Review



Recently posted . 1K views . 19 min read
 

 Article
Sasikala set to be Tamil Nadu CM, elected AIADMK legislature party leader; Panneerselvam resigns

Chennai: Jayalalithaa close aide VK Sasikala is good to go to wind up distinctly the  chief minister of Tamil Nadu after AIADMK MLAs on Sunday chose her as the...

Recently posted. 586 views . 50 min read
 

 Article
After Bengal's "Rosogolla", Odisha's "Rasagola" Gets Recognition

Odisha Rasagola: Bengal had secured the GI tag for ''Banglar Rosogolla'' after a tug of war with Odisha since 2015 over the origin of the sweet.

Recently posted. 573 views . 1 min read
 

 
 
 

   Prashnavali

  Thought of the Day

"Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try."
Jack Canfield

Be the first one to comment on this story

Close
Post Comment
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST


ads
Back To Top