Anil Ambani skips ED summons in Fema case, says ready to depose virtually

Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani refused to appear before the Enforcement Directorate in a Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema) case for the second time on Monday.

The businessman said he was ready to depose before the federal probe agency via "virtual appearance/recorded video", a statement he made when he skipped the summons the first time on November 14.

The ED had rejected Ambani's offer and issued him a fresh summons for Monday. It was not clear if the agency would issue a third summons now.

Proceedings under the Fema are civil in nature, as against the criminal processes under the anti-money laundering law.

In a statement, a spokesperson of the 66-year-old businessman said, "Mr Anil D. Ambani has offered to make himself available for the recording of his statement, at any date and time suitable to ED, via virtual appearance/recorded video."  According to sources, the agency had asked Ambani to appear before it in person on Friday and record his statement under the Fema.

The investigation pertains to the Jaipur-Reengus highway project.

In an earlier statement, the ED said that after recently attaching assets worth Rs 7,500 crore belonging to Ambani and his companies under the anti-money laundering law, a search carried out against Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. found that Rs 40 crore was allegedly "siphoned" from the highway project.

"Funds moved through Surat-based shell companies to Dubai. The trail has unearthed a wider international hawala network exceeding Rs 600 crore," the agency said.

The ED has recorded the statement of various persons, including some alleged hawala dealers, following which they decided to summon Ambani, the sources said.

Hawala denotes illegal movement of funds, largely in cash.

"The matter (Fema case) is 15 years old, dates to 2010. It concerns issues associated with a road contractor," the statement said.

In 2010, Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. awarded an EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract to build the JR Toll Road (Jaipur-Reengus highway), it said.

"This was a purely domestic contract with no foreign exchange component involved whatsoever. The JR Toll Road has been fully completed and, from 2021 onwards, has been with the National Highways Authority of India," the statement said.

Ambani is not a member of the Board of Reliance Infrastructure.

"He served the company for about 15 years, from April 2007 to March 2022, only as a non-executive director, and was never involved in day-to-day management of the company," it said.

The businessman has been questioned once by the ED in a money laundering case linked to an alleged Rs 17,000-crore bank fraud against his group companies.