ED Attaches Rs 1,452 Crore Assets in Anil Ambani's Reliance Group Bank Fraud Investigation

Mumbai:

The Enforcement Directorate announced on Thursday that additional assets valued at over Rs 1,452 crore have been attached in connection with bank fraud cases involving businessman Anil Ambani's Reliance Group.

A provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been issued to attach multiple properties including buildings in the Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) and Millennium Business Park in Navi Mumbai, along with land plots and buildings in Pune, Chennai, and Bhubaneshwar.

This recent action brings the total value of attached properties in the fraud investigations related to Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom) to Rs 8,997 crore.

Previously, the agency had attached assets worth more than Rs 7,545 crore in cases concerning alleged bank loan fraud and other financial irregularities by RCOM, Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd, and Reliance Home Finance Ltd.

In response to the property attachments, the Reliance Group clarified that RCom has not been part of Anil Ambani's Group entities since 2019.

According to their statement, RCOM has been undergoing the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process for over six years under the supervision of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and Supreme Court.

"RCom is no longer part of the Reliance Group and has been managed by a Resolution Professional for over six years under the supervision of the NCLT and the Committee of Creditors led by SBI," the statement explained.

The ED investigation was initiated following an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation against RCOM, Anil Ambani, and others, under various sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Investigators discovered that between 2010 and 2012, RCOM and its group companies obtained loans from numerous domestic and foreign lenders, accumulating outstanding dues of Rs 40,185 crore. Nine banks subsequently declared the group's loan accounts as fraudulent.

The ED's investigation revealed that funds borrowed by one entity were systematically diverted for repaying loans of other group firms, transferred to related parties, or invested in mutual funds - violating the terms of the sanctions.

According to the ED, RCOM and its group companies diverted over Rs 13,600 crore for "evergreening" of loans, more than Rs 12,600 crore was diverted to connected parties, and over Rs 1,800 crore was invested in fixed deposits and mutual funds, which was substantially liquidated for re-routing to group entities.

"Huge misuse of bill discounting for the purpose of funnelling funds to connected parties has also been detected by the ED. Certain loans were siphoned off outside India through foreign outward remittances," the probe agency reported.

The ED affirmed its commitment to pursuing financial crime offenders and ensuring that proceeds of crime are recovered and returned to rightful stakeholders. The investigation is ongoing.