CBI FIR against Future Retail, Biyani brothers over alleged Rs 2,236 crore loan fraud

By Rabiul Islam

Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Bank Securities and Fraud Branch, Mumbai, registered an FIR (RC0772026E0011) on November 4, 2026, against M/s Future Retail Limited (FRL), its promoter-directors Kishore Laxminarayan Biyani and Rakesh Gopikishan Biyani, and unknown public servants and others. The FIR follows an October 9, 2026 complaint by Jyoti Kumar, Deputy General Manager at State Bank of India (SBI) Stressed Assets Management Branch-III.

The CBI has invoked IPC Section 120-B read with 420 (criminal conspiracy and cheating) and Sections 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) and 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The case, assigned to Inspector Gaurav C. Kamble under SP Sandeep Chaudhary, pertains to an alleged wrongful principal loss of Rs 904.32 crore to SBI. The amount rises to Rs 2,236.23 crore when Rs 1,331.91 crore in notional interest is added, as of the March 23, 2026 fraud declaration date.

From Retail Titan to Insolvency

Founded by Kishore Biyani, the Future Group operated flagship chains under Future Retail Limited including Big Bazaar, Fashion @ Big Bazaar, Foodhall, Hypercity, Easy day, Heritage, WH Smith, and e-zone, alongside wider group formats Food Bazaar, Central, and Brand Factory. Banking with SBI since February 2007 (including a Rs 261.00 crore exposure merged from erstwhile State Bank of Travancore / e-SBT), FRL availed working capital via a nine-bank consortium led by Bank of India and term loans under a Multiple Banking Arrangement.

When COVID-19 hit and talks with Amazon stalled, Future Group inked a Rs 24,713 crore scheme of arrangement with the Reliance Group in August 2020. However, Amazon secured interim arbitration relief at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre in October 2020, tying up the deal across judicial forums until lenders rejected it on April 21, 2022. After a One Time Restructuring failed and Reliance entities (RPPMSL) took over 835 of FRL's 1,209 stores on February 25, 2022 following sublease terminations, FRL was retrospectively classified as an NPA effective April 26, 2021. Admitted into CIRP at the NCLT on July 20, 2022 on a plea by Bank of India, FRL was joined in NPA and CIRP status by four sister firms banking with SBI: Future Enterprises Limited (also FRL's corporate guarantor with a Rs 1,828.27 crore net worth in 2020-21), Future Lifestyle Fashions Limited (separately declared a fraud by SBI on December 5, 2025), Future Consumer Limited, and Future Supply Chain Solutions Limited.

Following a Bombay High Court order on February 13, 2025 directing Bank of India to proceed on the final September 15, 2023 forensic audit report by M/s BDO India LLP (covering April 1, 2017 to April 30, 2022), SBI issued show-cause notices on December 19, 2025. Finding the January 2, 2026 reply filed by law firm Link Legal (Link Legal Advocates) evasive, SBI declared the account a fraud on March 23, 2026.

The Forensic Trail: Rs 1,263.68 Crore in Disproportionate Payouts

Rs 1,263.68 Crore in Disproportionate Payouts BDO India LLP discovered that FRL made net payments of Rs 16,537.72 crore to 192 entities without supporting documentation. Test-checking 44 entities (Rs 9,394.59 crore), auditors flagged 9 entities (7 related parties) with weak financials or negligible revenues that received Rs 1,263.68 crore in questionable net payments:

M/s Syntex Trading and Agency Pvt. Ltd. (Syntax Trading & Agency Pvt. Ltd.): Rs 606.60 crore in FY20 loans (Rs 606.60 crore net impact), which Syntex routed onward as its short-term advances jumped from Rs 8.37 crore to Rs 850.14 crore.

M/s Peach Mercantile Private Limited (PMPL) (Peach Mercantle Pvt. Ltd.): Rs 156.32 crore net impact, despite reporting just Rs 5.63 crore in FY19 operational revenue.

M/s Nishta Mall Management Company Pvt. Ltd.: Rs 130.78 crore net impact, including Rs 79.97 crore paid in FY20 against revenue of Rs 8.38 crore.

M/s R.K.P. Business Concept Private Limited (RKP): Rs 127.61 crore net impact, receiving Rs 205.56 crore (FY19) and Rs 90.48 crore (FY20) against revenues of Rs 25.43 crore and Rs 80.06 crore while repaying Rs 250 crore in bank loans and expanding onward advances.

M/s Ryka Commercial Ventures Private Limited (RCVPL): Rs 122.73 crore net impact, receiving Rs 155.35 crore in FY18 against Rs 52.69 crore in revenue.

M/s Acute Retail Infra Pvt. Ltd. (Acute): Rs 44.74 crore net impact, with Rs 42.74 crore advanced in FY20 under a Rs 175 crore loan pact never recalled during FY21–22 liquidity crunches.

M/s Bansi Mall Management Company Private Limited (Bansi Mall): Rs 43.67 crore net impact, receiving Rs 157.69 crore in FY18 against Rs 90.52 crore revenue as its short-term loans dropped from Rs 529.27 crore to Rs 341.90 crore.

M/s Khushi Texagents and Fabtraders Private Limited (KTFPL): Rs 19.35 crore paid in FY18 against Rs 0.02 crore revenue to a firm incorporated in May 2016 and later struck off the Register of Companies.

M/s Future Ideas Company Limited (FICL): Rs 11.88 crore net impact, receiving Rs 25.79 crore in FY19 against Rs 13.77 crore revenue.

Rs 5,878.28 Crore Net Outflow to 13 Related & Connected Firms

Auditors also flagged Rs 24,002.09 crore (tabulated at Rs 24,002.1 crore) in payments against Rs 18,123.79 crore (tabulated at Rs 18,123.8 crore) in receipts across 13 related/connected entities—leaving a net outflow of Rs 5,878.28 crore that mismatched related-party disclosures: Future Corporate Resources Limited (Rs 2,863.58 crore net payment), Future Enterprises Limited (Rs 922.55 crore), Future Supply Chain Solutions Limited (Rs 676.74 crore), NuFuture Digital (India) Limited (Rs 322.56 crore), Future Consumer Limited (Rs 312.85 crore), Weavette Business Ventures Limited (Rs 168.05 crore), Apollo Design Apparel Park Limited (Rs 161.56 crore), Goldmohur Design & Apparel Park Limited (Rs 146.59 crore), Future Lifestyle Fashions Limited (Rs 98.74 crore), Unique Malls Private Limited (Rs 68.23 crore), Future Speciality Retail Limited (Rs 67.7 crore), PRTL Enterprises Limited (Rs 57.25 crore), and Future 7-India Convenience Limited (Rs 11.88 crore).

Book Manipulation, Subsidiary Transfers, and Creditor Wipeout

The audit further uncovered that FRL's lease security deposits more than doubled from Rs 1,938.35 crore (FY19) to Rs 4,406.17 crore (FY20) even as store count fell from 1,511 to 1,350. Similarly, advances to suppliers surged from Rs 530.28 crore (FY17) to Rs 3,089.22 crore (FY21) while purchases plummeted from Rs 13,212.92 crore to Rs 3,765.30 crore. FRL also sank Rs 119.08 crore into loss-making investee firms and signed an opaque April 14, 2022 franchise deal transferring eight Foodhall stores to wholly owned subsidiary TNSI, paying a 4% net sales license fee without asset valuation or inventory clarity.

Under CIRP, the Resolution Professional admitted Rs 19,491.17 crore in claims across 35 financial institutions (total IBC admitted claims later stood at Rs 24,516 crore, with SBI's total claim at Rs 1,485.85 crore):

Bank of New York Mellon (Rs 4,109.41 crore), Bank of Baroda (Rs 1,829.09 crore), Union Bank of India (Rs 1,779.31 crore), Central Bank of India (Rs 1,656.96 crore), Bank of India (Rs 1,181.61 crore), Punjab National Bank (Rs 1,066.43 crore), Indian Bank (Rs 993.08 crore), State Bank of India (Rs 990.17 crore), Centbank Financial Services Ltd (Rs 894.22 crore), Axis Trustee Services Limited (Rs 795.50 crore), UCO Bank (Rs 564.20 crore), IDBI Bank (Rs 511.21 crore), Axis Bank (Rs 464.47 crore), Bajaj Finance Limited (Rs 398.10 crore), IndusInd Bank (Rs 357.67 crore), Canara Bank (Rs 335.90 crore), Vistra ITCL (India) Ltd (Rs 279.39 crore), IDFC First Bank (Rs 220.56 crore), Cooperative Rabobank U. A., Mumbai Branch (Rs 180.57 crore), JC Flowers Asset Reconstruction Private Limited (Rs 148.70 crore), The Jammu & Kashmir Bank (Rs 108.57 crore), Indian Overseas Bank (Rs 107.23 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 97.65 crore), DBS India Bank Limited (Rs 95.85 crore), Qatar National Bank (QPSC) (Rs 58.53 crore), Barclays Bank PLC (Rs 58.19 crore), Kotak Mahindra Bank (Rs 54.33 crore), RBL Bank (Rs 51.16 crore), Avendus Finance Private Limited (Rs 49.68 crore), Shinhan Bank (Rs 19.61 crore), APAC Financial Services Pvt Ltd (Rs 17.48 crore), Yes Bank (Rs 5.30 crore), Punjab & Sindh Bank (Rs 5.08 crore), CSB Bank Ltd (Rs 3.55 crore), and Bank of Maharashtra (Rs 2.41 crore).

After creditors rejected a Rs 553 crore resolution plan from SMPL (offering SBI Rs 22.81 crore), the NCLT ordered FRL's liquidation on July 29, 2024. With e-auctions of 46 lots fetching just Rs 103.90 crore by January 30, 2026 against Rs 156.91 crore in unpaid CIRP costs, SBI expects zero liquidation recovery. Parallel personal insolvency petitions are also active against personal guarantors Kishore Biyani (by Jammu and Kashmir Bank), Rakesh Biyani (by Central Bank of India), and Vijay Laxminarayan Biyani (by Axis Trustee Services Limited, where RP Ritesh Agarwal moved to close proceedings in July 2026 after no repayment plan was offered against Rs 4,559.92 crore in admitted claims).