'Bankrupt' Anil Ambani has $1.3 billion in offshore firms: Report
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Earlier in 2020, Anil Ambani was ordered to pay $716 million to Chinese state-controlled banks by a London court. He told the court that his net worth was zero, and he didn't have any assets in any entity worldwide.
However, a recent report in the Pandora Papers revealed that the chairman of Reliance ADA Group and his representatives own at least 18 offshore companies in Jersey, the British Virgin Islands (BVI), and Cyprus.
The London court had observed that "there are questions about the extent to which Mr Ambani has any offshore interests, because if so they have not been declared". Seven of these offshore firms were set up between 2007 and 2010, and he has invested at least 1.3 billion in them, reported The Indian Express.
Two of these companies were liquidated by March 2018. And another, Trans-Americas Holdings in the British Virgin Islands were active until 2017. The three Cyprus companies went into voluntary liquidation this year.
Three companies in Jersey, Batiste Unlimited, Radium Unlimited and Hui Investment Unlimited, were incorporated into Reliance between December 2007 and January 2008. Now, Batiste Unlimited and Radium Unlimited are owned by Reliance Innoventures Pvt Ltd. Hui Investment Unlimited is owned by AAA Enterprises Ltd (Reliance Inceptum Pvt Ltd since 2014), a promoter company of Reliance Capital.
Two other companies in Jersey - Summerhill Ltd and Dulwich Ltd- are owned by a "representative of Anil Ambani", identified as Anup Dalal. He also owned Reindeer Holdings Ltd (an investment management firm) in the British Virgin Islands, said the report. Laurence Mutual, Richard Equity Ltd, and German Equity Limited are the other three companies in Jersey owned by a lawyer in Geneva.
Anil Ambani's lawyer told The Indian Express that his client is a tax resident of India and has made disclosures to Indian authorities as required to be made in compliance with the law.
"All required considerations were taken into account when making disclosures before the London court. The Reliance Group conducts business globally, and for legitimate business and regulatory requirements, companies are incorporated in different jurisdictions," he added.