The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has rejected settlement applications filed by Reliance Infrastructure and Anil Ambani in a case relating to the company’s exposure of ₹6,526 crore to engineering contractor CLE Pvt Ltd, according to people aware of the development.
The settlement applications were rejected last Friday, with SEBI citing parallel investigations by other enforcement agencies into the matter, the people said.
The rejection means the matter will now proceed through the normal enforcement process, with hearings expected before the markets’ regulator passes a final order.
The proceedings arise from Reliance Infrastructure’s long-standing exposure to CLE Pvt Ltd. According to people familiar with the show-cause notice, SEBI has alleged violations of the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) Regulations, the Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices (PFUTP) Regulations, and provisions relating to related-party transactions. The regulator has alleged that the company’s funds were misused through the arrangement.
The markets regulator had issued a show-cause notice to Reliance Infrastructure in September 2025. According to people familiar with the notice, SEBI has sought the restoration of ₹6,526 crore to Reliance Infrastructure, along with applicable interest from 2018, when the provisions became doubtful and remain unrecovered. The regulator has not explicitly quantified the interest component, but it is expected to almost double the recovery amount, the people said.
The show-cause notice also alleges that substantially larger sums were routed to CLE over nearly a decade. Reuters had earlier reported that SEBI alleged that around ₹17,670 crore was routed to the contractor, of which at least ₹11,200 crore was invested in entities linked to the Reliance ADA Group. In earlier stock exchange disclosures, Reliance Infrastructure has maintained that CLE was an independent entity.
SEBI show-cause notice
In October last year, Reliance Infrastructure disclosed to the stock exchanges that it had received a show-cause notice from SEBI regarding the transactions. The company had said the proceedings related to its financial exposure to CLE and maintained that it would take appropriate legal steps.
Earlier this year, the company informed stock exchanges that it had entered into consent terms with CLE before the Bombay High Court Mediation Centre to settle commercial disputes relating to the exposure. The company had said the settlement resolved dues of about ₹6,503 crore through the transfer of assets and the conversion of part of the outstanding amount into a secured loan.
Queries emailed to SEBI and Reliance Infrastructure remained unanswered till press time. A Reliance group spokesperson said: The allegations are categorically denied. The matters are sub judice, and the Group will continue to defend its position as legally advised.
Under SEBI’s settlement mechanism, entities may settle enforcement proceedings without admission or denial of findings. Where a settlement application is rejected, the regulator continues with adjudication proceedings before deciding whether to issue a final order.