New Delhi: India’s top court told billionaire tycoon Anil Ambani (pictured) on Wednesday he must pay his debts to Sweden’s Ericsson or go to jail, the latest twist in a saga that has brought his telecom company to its knees.
Ambani’s Reliance Communications is some $4 billion dollars in debt after a brutal telecom price war with his brother Mukesh — India’s richest man.
Judges found Anil Ambani, 59, had refused to pay telecom giant Ericsson 5.5 billion rupees ($77 million) as previously ordered by the Supreme Court.
They ruled the billionaire will be jailed for three months if 4.5 billion rupees are not stumped up within four weeks.
Ambani’s firm said it will comply with the ruling and pay the debt. Some 1.0 billion rupees have already been deposited with the court, which said the sum will be handed to Ericsson.
The dispute started when Ericsson sought to recoup 16 billion rupees from Reliance Communications. They reached a settlement last May, but the Indian company failed to meet payment deadlines.
Ambani had hoped to avoid insolvency proceedings by offloading his company’s telecom tower and spectrum business to his brother’s Reliance Jio for $2.4 billion. But the deal has hit regulatory hurdles and opposition from creditors. — AFP
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