Ambanis in crisis: is 2021 Mukesh and Nita’s worst year yet? India’s richest family faced a bomb scare, Reliance Industries was dealt a US$3.3 million fine, and Anil’s son might reignite the family feud

Apr 17 , 2021

The Ambani family’s 2021 has been tough. Photo: @nita_ambaniofficial/Instagram

The Ambani family may continue to garner global fasciation as their wealth soars, but 2021 has not been a good year for them so far. Their safety has been threatened, their business fined to the tune of millions of dollars, and they’ve even become recent targets of student protests.

And that’s not all: the truce between brothers Mukesh and Anil might be falling apart after Anil’s son Jai Anmol took potshots at India’s wealthy. Considering that Mukesh is India’s richest man, the harsh words couldn’t help but seem aimed in his direction.

Here’s how 2021 has been a year of crisis for one of the world’s most powerful families …

The hefty fine

The Ambanis from left to right: Akash, Anant, Isha, Nita, and Mukesh. Photo: Reuters

This month, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) fined Mukesh and several other Ambani family members, including his wife Nita, his brother Anil, Anil’s wife Tina and other firms linked to the family. The whopping US$3.3 million fine relates to an alleged violation of takeover code regulations back in 2000.

The Times of India reported that Mukesh’s legal team plans on appealing the decision. Through legal documents, Reliance Industries said there had been no violation and that they were “confident of vindicating their position”.

Meanwhile, SEBI has said if the fine is not paid within 45 days, the amount would be recovered through seizing the family’s assets. Ouch.

Students protest against Nita

Mumbai Indians’ team owner Nita Ambani attends a press conference in 2012. Photo: AP

Banaras Hindu University (BHU)’s decision to appoint Nita as a visiting professor went wrong after students protested the move. The social sciences faculty sent a proposal to Reliance Industries, suggesting that Nita become a visiting professor at the institution’s Women Study Centre.

But students slammed the idea, saying that someone who set an example for women empowerment would be a better fit, Business Today reported. (Presumably they aren’t fans of Nita’s women-focused initiatives.) According to India Today, more than 40 students showed up outside the vice-chancellor’s office and submitted a memorandum to the faculty in March.

The bomb scare

The Ambani mansion, Antilia, decorated during Isha Ambani’s wedding in Mumbai, India in December 2018. Photo: Reuters

Terror hit the Ambani household in February after a car parked outside their famous Antilia mansion in Mumbai was found to have 20 gelignite sticks in it. According to The Indian Express, gelignite sticks have been used in previous terror attacks. Although the bomb was missing a detonator, an accompanying note addressed to Mukesh and Nita proved dangerous intent. According to the BBC, the note said: “we have made arrangements to blow up your entire family”.

Even more mysteriously, the owner of the car – who had reported it stolen – was found dead days after the incident. Later, a high-ranking police officer was arrested in connection with the crime. A report by the Financial Times stated that the incident exposed “Mumbai’s dirty politics”.

A family war reignited?

Jai Anmol Ambani with his parents Anil and Tina. Photo: @jai_anmolambani/Instagram

Anil and Tina’s eldest son Jai Anmol raised eyebrows recently after he slammed renewed lockdown regulations in India amid a surge in positive coronavirus cases. The usually low-profile Jai Anmol spoke out on Twitter, saying they were all about control and that they only benefited India’s wealthy: “It’s no coincidence that the losses of the common man are gains of the wealthiest.” He has also continually promoted anti-mask and anti-vaccine stances on the social media platform.

It’s difficult not to interpret his comments as potential digs at his uncle Mukesh, who has an estimated net worth of US$84.5 billion and is considered India’s richest man. Jai Anmol’s father Anil, meanwhile, last year claimed that his net worth was zero.

Jai Anmol’s Twitter storm may be a threat to the fragile truce between the brothers. Last year, Mukesh extended an olive branch after settling Anil’s debt after threats of jail time. The move was considered a peace offering between the two after years of fighting.

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Mukesh Ambani and family

Jai Anmol made anti-mask, anti-vaccine posts on Twitter amid a surge of positive Covid-19 cases in India … and criticised the country’s wealthy too
Earlier, a car with a bomb was found outside the family’s Antilia mansion in Mumbai, and BHU students protested Nita’s appointment as a visiting professor