Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Nov 20: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached multiple properties belonging to Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group entities worth Rs 1,452.51 crore in an ongoing money laundering investigation, officials said on Thursday.
According to the ED, the attached assets include buildings in Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) and Millennium Business Park in Navi Mumbai, along with plots and structures in Pune, Chennai, and Bhubaneswar. The move was made under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
This latest action comes on the heels of earlier property attachments exceeding Rs 7,545 crore in connection with bank fraud cases involving Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCOM), Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd., and Reliance Home Finance Ltd.
The ED’s probe is based on a CBI-registered FIR against RCOM, Anil Ambani, and other group officials under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1989. Investigators found that RCOM and its group companies borrowed loans from domestic and international lenders between 2010 and 2012, leaving an outstanding total of Rs 40,185 crore. Nine banks have classified these loan accounts as fraudulent.
Further investigation revealed that loans obtained by one entity were allegedly used to repay borrowings of other group companies, transferred to related parties, or invested in mutual funds, violating the terms of the sanction letters. Specifically, over Rs 13,600 crore was reportedly diverted to “evergreen” loans, Rs 12,600 crore transferred to connected parties, and Rs 1,800 crore invested in fixed deposits and mutual funds, which were later liquidated to fund other group entities.
“The total attachment in these cases now stands at Rs 8,997 crore. ED remains committed to tracing financial crimes and restoring the proceeds of crime to rightful claimants. Investigation is ongoing,” the agency stated.
Meanwhile, Reliance ADAG Group chairman Anil Ambani skipped the ED summons for the second time on Monday at the agency’s Delhi headquarters in connection with a FEMA probe linked to the Jaipur–Reengus highway project. Ambani has requested permission to appear virtually.