'My net worth is zero': Anil Ambani, brother of Asia’s richest man

“The value of my investments has collapsed,” Anil Ambani said, according to a London court filing by banks seeking $680 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 against Anil Ambani, 60, was filed by three state-controlled Chinese banks, which argue that they provided a loan of $925 million to Ambani’s Reliance Communications 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. Anil 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.”

Anil Ambani, 60, is the brother of Mukesh Ambani, 62, 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.

Judge David Waksman on Friday ordered Anil Ambani to put up $100 million into the court’s account within six weeks. Ambani plans to appeal. Source: https://www.judiciary.uk/publications/his-honour-judge-waksman/

US director Steven Spielberg (left), with Bollywood great Amitabh Bachchan (centre), and Anil Ambani.

A file photo showing Indian minister Dayanidhi Maran (R) making the first call to mark the launch of the FALCON Submarine Cable system in New Delhi. Chairman of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, Anil Ambani (L) is also seen

Industrialist Anil Ambani shows his inked marked finger after casting vote during the 4th phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, at a polling station in Mumbai, Monday, April 29, 2019.

Mukesh Ambani with his brother Anil Ambani (right). 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.

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.

In 2019, Anil Ambani was caught up in a legal wrangle, 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.

Anil Ambani, chairman of Reliance Power, speaks to a group of reporters in New Delhi. Reliance Group has reported a steep decline in its shares.

In November 2019, Anil Ambani resigned as Director of Reliance Communications as the bankrupt telecom operator nears sale of its assets under an insolvency process.