Anil Ambani pays debt after court threatened jail

MUMBAI: Tycoon Anil Ambani has settled a multi-million debt with Sweden’s Ericsson, the company said on Monday, after judges threatened the billionaire with jail if he did not pay his dues.

The Supreme Court in February found that Ambani, 59, had refused to pay telecom giant Ericsson Rs 5.5 billion ($77 million), as previously ordered by India’s top court.

The judges warned that Ambani would be jailed for three months if Rs 4.5 billion were not stumped up within a month.

His firm Reliance Communications — which is some $4 billion in debt after a brutal telecom price war with his brother Mukesh, India’s richest man — said it would comply with the ruling.

“We’ve received complete payments, as mandated by the Supreme Court, today from Reliance Communications,” a spokesperson for Ericsson said on Monday, without elaborating on the details of the settlement.

Reliance Communications could not be reached for comment.

Shares of Reliance Communications fell by almost 10 per cent on India’s Bombay Stock Exchange at the close of markets on Monday, just the latest sharp dip.

The company filed for insolvency after Reliance Communications failed to sell assets to pay back lenders.

The dispute with Ericsson started when the Swedish firm sought to recoup Rs 16 billion from Reliance Communications.

They reached a settlement last May, but the Indian company failed to meet payment deadlines.

— AFP