The Recent News related to the Enforcement Directorate searches at over 35 premises linked to Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group in Mumbai and Delhi has once more placed a huge spotlight on the financial dealings of the Ambani’s reputable business. These raids took place today, July 24, 2025, and in the course of investigation of money laundering in relation to an alleged Rs. 3,000-crore loan fraud by Yes Bank.
This later scrutiny assuredly recalls March 2019 when Mukesh Ambani, Director of Reliance Industries, offered rescue money to his younger brother, Anil Ambani, from liquidation.
When Mukesh Ambani Helped Anil
While highlighting family ties amidst corporate complexities, Mukesh Ambani extended aid to his younger brother, Anil Ambani, in March 2019. This financial assistance helped Anil Ambani’s company, Reliance Communications (R.Com), in settling dues to Swedish telecom equipment vendor Ericsson and, in the process, prevented legal complications for Anil Ambani.
Ericsson Dues and Supreme Court Order
Anil Ambani’s R.Com and Ericsson were involved in a legal dispute over unpaid invoices for maintenance and equipment cost. In late February 2019, the Supreme Court of India directed RCom to pay Ericsson approximately Rs. 450 crore with the order specifying 19 March 2019 as the date for the payment to be made. It further warned that Anil Ambani could face imprisonment for contempt if the order was not complied with by the set date.
As the deadline imposed by the court neared closer, and R.Com faced severe financial problems. Mukesh Ambani provided his brother, Anil Ambani, with the required money. While there was no clarity publicly as to whether this was a loan, a private investment, or some other kind of financial arrangement, it was well reported that the amount was enough to pay R.Com’s debts to Ericsson, including interest, which was approximately Rs. 550 crore.
After the payment was made Anil Ambani released a public statement thanking, specifically, his “respected elder brother, Mukesh, and Nita, for standing by me during these difficult times, and respecting the importance of our strong family values by providing timely support.”
Family Amidst Business Challenges
This financial aid represented the well-publicized history of their strained relationship and separation of industries since the Ambani brothers divided their father’s Dhirubhai Ambani empire. Mukesh Ambani’s assistance was widely viewed as a familial action compelled to prevent personal and legal ruin for his brother, especially as it was public and outside intervention.
Their support demonstrated their relationship, complicated as it is, was still a relationship which meant there could be potential uncertainty, and priority was necessary for both brothers before the two firms, until now, completely unrelated, were reconnected. The timing was critical, and there were no knowable repercussions for Anil Ambani, and so the story presented a pivotal event in the lives of one of India’s eminent business families.
