Indian billionaire heir Anant Ambani's rebuffed by UK officials

British officials advised government ministers not to engage formally with Vantara, the giant animal center founded by Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, after lobbyists acting for the zoo approached the U.K. government, documents released under freedom-of-information law show.

The advice came as the U.K. prepared to chair this week's meeting of the Standing Committee of CITES, the treaty that governs international trade in endangered species. The 32-member committee is meeting in Geneva from Nov. 2 to Nov. 6, and its agenda includes a report on India's compliance with wildlife import rules.

"Given the ongoing compliance proceedings and continued scrutiny, we do not advise ministers to engage formally" with Vantara, an official at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs wrote in an email on July 14. A later departmental briefing, titled "U.K. Approach to engagement with Vantara during ongoing CITES proceedings," reached the same conclusion. Officials described the case as a "high-profile test of the CITES compliance and due diligence system" and warned that there were "reputational sensitivities while the process remains live."

Lobbyists sought meetings

The documents show two firms approached the government on Vantara's behalf this year.

Checkmate Government Relations, a U.S. firm with an office in London, contacted the department's CITES management authority. Checkmate staff and a Vantara representative met environment officials on May 26. According to an internal briefing, Checkmate argued that "responsibility for verifying legality sits primarily with exporting or re-exporting parties rather than with India as importer." The department said it urged Vantara to strengthen its due diligence. Officials turned down an invitation to visit the zoo to protect the impartiality of the U.K.'s role as committee chair.

On July 13, London-based Atlas Strategy emailed Emma Reynolds, then the environment secretary, and also approached Mary Creagh, then a junior environment minister. "Vantara is keen to build a constructive relationship with the United Kingdom," the Atlas representative wrote, asking for a ministerial meeting in London and offering to host officials in Jamnagar. When Reynolds sought advice, officials recommended against formal engagement.

Vantara said it had not "hired or paid any lobbying firm." Atlas registered with the U.K.'s lobbying registrar in late October, and Checkmate is not on the register. Both firms declined to comment.

Falcons and permits

The files also show that British officials examined an April 2026 application by Vantara to import 27 captive-bred falcons and hybrids from the U.K. The Animal and Plant Health Agency looked at a payment of about £50,000 ($66,500), described as a "donation," made to the falcon exporter and treated the planned shipment as commercial trade rather than a transfer between zoos. The exporter has challenged that decision. Vantara said no falcons were sent to India.

The U.K. issued 152 export and re-export permits naming Vantara between October 2023 and September 2026, covering 18 species, most of them listed in CITES Appendix I, the category for animals most threatened with extinction. At least 44 of those permits were returned unused, six were cancelled and 19 were marked as used. The records do not show how many animals were shipped.

A department spokesperson said the U.K. "has strict rules in place to protect endangered species" and assesses each application on its own merits.

Vantara's record

Vantara sits on a 3,500-acre site next to Reliance Industries' oil refinery complex in Jamnagar, in the western Indian state of Gujarat. It has taken in more than 150,000 animals since 2022 and describes itself as a "wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and conservation centre." It operates with the Reliance Foundation, the group's charity.

The center has drawn growing scrutiny from conservation groups. A CITES fact-finding mission raised concerns about some of India's imports for Vantara in 2025, and a recommendation to restrict India's trade was later withdrawn. In September this year, 27 conservation and animal-welfare groups urged Vantara to stop importing wild animals, saying its payments to suppliers could encourage the removal of more animals from the wild.

Vantara has denied wrongdoing, and Anant Ambani has said animals are brought to the center legally and for their welfare. In September 2025, India's Supreme Court accepted the findings of a special investigation team that cleared Vantara of breaking legal or ethical rules, and in May it declined a request for fresh criminal investigations into its animal transfers.

In August, Vantara told the Supreme Court it would stop applying to import animals for 12 months, counted from its last import on June 5, to strengthen "its internal governance and due diligence systems." It also appointed John Scanlon, a former secretary-general of CITES, to chair a new independent governing council.

Anant Ambani, 31, is an executive director of Reliance Industries, the oil-to-telecoms conglomerate controlled by his father. Mukesh Ambani, 69, is Reliance's chairman and one of Asia's richest people. In September, Newcastle University in England named Anant a professor of practice in sustainability, an appointment that drew criticism from conservationists.

Pound figures were converted at £1 to $1.33.