ED seizes ₹7,500 cr assets linked to Anil Ambani in money laundering probe

The ED has attached assets worth ₹7,500 crore linked to Anil Ambani, including his Mumbai home, a Delhi plot and other residential and commercial properties across major cities under the PMLA

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth more than ₹7,500 crore linked to Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani as part of a money laundering probe against his group companies, news agency PTI reported.

 

The agency issued four provisional attachment orders under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The attached properties include Ambani’s residence in Mumbai’s Pali Hill, as well as residential and commercial assets owned by various Reliance Group firms.

 

A plot of land belonging to Reliance Centre on Maharaja Ranjit Singh Marg in Delhi, along with several other properties across Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Hyderabad, Chennai and East Godavari, have also been seized. The total value of the attached assets stands at ₹3,084 crore, PTI reported.

Case linked to diversion of funds

 

The case is related to alleged diversion and laundering of public funds raised by Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL). Between 2017 and 2019, Yes Bank invested ₹2,965 crore in RHFL and ₹2,045 crore in RCFL through various instruments. However, by December 2019, these investments turned “non-performing”, with ₹1,353.50 crore outstanding for RHFL and ₹1,984 crore for RCFL, according to the ED.

 

The latest action forms part of a wider probe into alleged financial irregularities and loan diversions exceeding ₹17,000 crore involving multiple Reliance Group companies, including Reliance Infrastructure.

 

Ambani was questioned by the ED in August this year. Before that, on July 24, the agency had searched 35 premises linked to 50 companies and 25 individuals, including senior executives from his business group. 

No impact on business: Reliance Infra

Reliance Infrastructure, however, said the ED action would have no impact on its business operations.

 

“There is no impact on the business operations, shareholders, employees, or any other stakeholders of Reliance Infrastructure Limited,” the company said in a BSE filing, adding that Anil Ambani has not been on the board of Reliance Infrastructure for over three and a half years. 

   

  ED raids linked to Yes Bank loan fraud case

 

Earlier in July, the Enforcement Directorate had conducted raids at several premises linked to Anil Ambani as part of its investigation into the Yes Bank loan fraud case. The action came after the State Bank of India (SBI) classified Reliance Communications as “fraud” and decided to report the matter, along with Anil Ambani’s name, to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

 

Initial findings had suggested that promoters of Yes Bank may have received funds in their personal accounts shortly before sanctioning large loans to companies in the Reliance Anil Ambani Group, indicating possible quid pro quo arrangements.

Bribery, backdated documents

 

Investigators suspected that bribes were paid to bank officials and that some key loan approval documents, such as credit approval memorandums (CAMs), were backdated. The agency has also found that several investments were made without proper due diligence, in violation of the bank’s internal credit policies.

 

Loans worth around ₹3,000 crore issued by Yes Bank between 2017 and 2019 are under scrutiny for alleged diversion to shell companies and entities linked to the group. The ED is also probing whether some Yes Bank executives received kickbacks during the sanctioning process.

Earlier probe traced large-scale loan irregularities

 

The ED has flagged several red flags, including loans given to financially weak companies, backdated documents and disbursals made even before official approval. The agency has also pointed to the “evergreening” of bad loans and overlapping directorships among borrower firms.

 

In 2020, the agency began investigating ₹12,500-₹12,800 crore in loans issued by Yes Bank to Anil Ambani’s companies. The probe followed the bank’s collapse and a money laundering case against its founder, Rana Kapoor, who was accused of taking ₹4,300 crore in kickbacks.

 

(With agency inputs)