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Indian Express
a day ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Loan fraud case: ED investigation against Anil Ambani
Five years after he was questioned in the Yes Bank loan fraud case, industrialist Anil Ambani is once again under the scrutiny of investigative agencies. On July 24, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided premises linked to his companies in connection with a Rs 17,000 crore alleged money laundering investigation. Anil Ambani appeared before ED investigators on Tuesday. The ED action came some days after the State Bank of India classified the loan account of one of his companies as fraudulent, and markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued an order detailing a systematic diversion of funds. The investigation flows from FIRs registered earlier by the CBI and inputs from institutions including SEBI, National Housing Bank (NHB), and Bank of Baroda, and covers several Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group companies including Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Power, Reliance Communications, and Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL). The ED suspects a scheme of loan fraud and diversion of funds involving thousands of crores. Loans extended by RHFL and Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd were allegedly routed to group companies and shell firms, bypassing norms and creating a false impression of loan performance through evergreening. According to the preliminary investigation: * A Rs 3,000 crore loan from Yes Bank (2017-19) was allegedly diverted soon after disbursal. In some cases, the loan was sanctioned before due diligence, and backdated documentation was used. * Loans were allegedly onward lent on the day of sanction, often to firms with common addresses and directors. * 'C Company', an undisclosed related party, was used to route funds without disclosure. Reliance Infrastructure allegedly diverted Rs 10,000 crore in this way. * The group allegedly took a haircut of Rs 5,480 crore, receiving only Rs 4 crore in cash and the rest in inactive power distribution companies, with no chance of recovery. The July 24 searches covered 35 premises, including 50 companies and 25 individuals, including senior Reliance Group officials. On August 5, Anil Ambani is learnt to have told the ED that he had no knowledge of several of the alleged fraudulent transactions and loan disbursals, and asked for a week's time to verify the details. The agency has written to a dozen banks including SBI, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank, asking for details of due diligence on loans sanctioned to his companies, including RHFL and Reliance Communications. On August 4, Partha Sarathi Biswal, managing director of Biswal Tradelink Pvt Ltd (BTPL), was arrested for allegedly arranging fake bank guarantees worth Rs 68.2 crore that were provided by Reliance Power for a Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) tender. The ED is also examining the role of Yes Bank officials and probing possible quid pro quo. Under the scanner is a Rs 2,850 crore investment by Reliance Mutual Fund in AT-1 bonds of Yes Bank. On June 13, SBI, in accordance with the Reserve Bank of India's directions on fraud risk management, classified Reliance Communications, along with promoter director Anil Ambani, as 'fraud'. The bank is in the process of lodging a complaint with the CBI. SBI's credit exposure in RCom includes fund-based principal outstanding amount of Rs 2,227.64 crore along with accrued interest and expenses with effect from August 26, 2016, and non-fund-based bank guarantee of Rs 786.52 crore. The loan was declared fraudulent on the ground that the company had used the funds in violation of 'agreed terms', and due to 'irregularities observed in the conduct of the account of Reliance Communications'. RCom has said that it is undergoing a corporate insolvency resolution process, and has earlier reported outstanding debt of Rs 40,400 crore. The company has said that the loans referred to by SBI pertain to the period before the insolvency resolution process, and are required to be resolved through the process. In a strong order earlier this year, SEBI laid out how RHFL and its key executives, including Anil Ambani, allegedly orchestrated a fraud on public investors and shareholders. * Rs 12,487 crore in loans were disbursed to 47 shell companies (Potentially Indirectly Linked Entities) between FY17 and FY19. * Many of these companies shared common addresses, directors, or email domains with Anil Ambani group firms. * Deviations from credit policies were routine: loans disbursed on the day of application, backdated sanction memos, incomplete documentation, no security creation. * Loans were allegedly routed to repay earlier loans — an evergreening loop that misrepresented financial health. * A forensic audit by Grant Thornton found that in many cases, the funds ended up back with group companies like Reliance Capital, Reliance Infra, and Reliance Big Entertainment. * SEBI said the GPCL (General Purpose Corporate Loan) scheme was a facade for diversion. It restrained Anil Ambani and top company executives from accessing the securities market, pending further proceedings. The developments have come as Anil Ambani was trying to rebuild after years of financial and reputational setbacks. His troubles began soon after the high-profile split with brother Mukesh Ambani. Companies such as Reliance Communications, Reliance Capital, and Reliance Power collapsed under financial strain — RCom shut down operations in 2019 with liabilities exceeding Rs 46,000 crore. The downfall was marked by defaults, insolvency proceedings, and regulatory actions, including a five-year SEBI ban on Anil Ambani for allegedly orchestrating a scheme to siphon off funds. His troubles extended to defence and infrastructure ventures. Reliance Naval failed to deliver key defence contracts and entered bankruptcy. Other high-profile ventures like Dassault Reliance Aerospace played only modest roles in India's defence sector. Anil Ambani stepped down from several board positions, and group assets were either sold or restructured through insolvency proceedings. A slow turnaround began in 2022. The group pivoted to clean energy, infrastructure, and defence manufacturing. Reliance Power achieved zero debt, and new defence partnerships were forged with European companies. —With inputs from Mahender Singh Manral
India Today
3 days ago
- Business
- India Today
Anil Ambani seeks 10 days from ED to provide documents in fraud cases: Sources
Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani, who appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday in connection with a money laundering case, has sought 10 days from the probe agency to submit documents related to the alleged scam, sources told India Today 66-year-old industrialist was summoned to the ED headquarters in New Delhi, where his statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) under a money laundering probe linked to multiple fraud cases involving several of his group questioning, Anil Ambani told ED officials that it would take him at least seven to ten days to gather documents and facts related to the fraud case. Following his request, the financial probe agency may summon him again in another seven to ten days, sources added. The fraud case centres around unpaid loans amounting to nearly Rs 17,000 crore, which were taken by various firms linked to Anil Ambani. Officials are trying to trace the money trail and who were all involved in diverting also said that during questioning, Anil Ambani sought to deny any involvement in the case, maintaining that all the financial decisions were taken by the internal board of his companies, and that he later signed them agencies, including the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and other financial regulators, have unearthed what officials are calling a "well-planned and thought-after conspiracy" to siphon off public money, launder thousands of crores, and manipulate the banking system through a network of shell firms, backdated approvals, fake bank guarantees, and offshore summons to Anil Ambani followed a massive crackdown by the ED last month, during which the central agency searched 35 premises linked to nearly 50 companies and 25 people, including top executives from the Reliance Group. The three-day operation began on July 24 and focused on suspected financial irregularities and large-scale diversion of bank a Sebi report, ED has alleged that Reliance Infrastructure diverted funds to other Reliance Group entities under the guise of inter-corporate deposits (ICDs).The transactions were routed through a company called CLE, which, investigators claimed, was not disclosed as a "related party" by R Infra—reportedly in an attempt to bypass mandatory approvals from shareholders and audit probe agency, last week, made its first arrest in the ongoing investigation into the case. Partha Sarathi Biswal, managing director of Biswal Tradelink Pvt Ltd, was arrested on August 1 under the to sources, Biswal is accused of arranging fake bank guarantees worth Rs 68.2 crore on behalf of Reliance Anil Ambani has also had a Look Out Circular (LOC) against him issued by the ED to stop him from travelling abroad.- Ends
India Today
3 days ago
- Business
- India Today
Anil Ambani leaves for Delhi, to appear before ED in loan fraud case today
Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani on Tuesday left for New Delhi to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering probe linked to an alleged Rs 17,000-crore bank loan fraud involving several of his group 66-year-old industrialist has been summoned to the ED headquarters in the national capital, where his statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).advertisementThe summons followed a massive crackdown by the ED last month, during which the central agency searched 35 premises linked to nearly 50 companies and 25 people, including top executives from the Reliance Group. The three-day operation began on July 24 and focused on suspected financial irregularities and large-scale diversion of bank loans. According to officials, the probe centres on multiple companies under Anil Ambani's business empire — particularly Reliance Infrastructure (R Infra) — which are alleged to have diverted loans worth over Rs 17,000 a Sebi report, ED has alleged that Reliance Infrastructure diverted funds to other Reliance Group entities under the guise of inter-corporate deposits (ICDs). The transactions were routed through a company called CLE, which, investigators claimed, was not disclosed as a "related party" by R Infra—reportedly in an attempt to bypass mandatory approvals from shareholders and audit part of its probe into the alleged loan fraud, the Enforcement Directorate has also written to 39 banks, seeking explanations on their due diligence lapses. The agency has questioned why these banks failed to flag the loans as suspicious or report them to authorities when the borrowing entities began defaulting on repayments."The silence of the banks even after loan defaults raises serious questions. These institutions had a legal duty to alert the authorities, which they failed to do,' a senior official told India Today probe agency, last week, made its first arrest in the ongoing investigation into alleged financial irregularities linked to Reliance Power. Partha Sarathi Biswal, managing director of Biswal Tradelink Pvt Ltd, was arrested on August 1 under the to sources, Biswal is accused of arranging fake bank guarantees worth Rs 68.2 crore on behalf of Reliance the ED has also notified a Look Out Circular (LOC) against Anil Ambani to stop him from travelling abroad.- EndsTune InMust Watch
India Today
4 days ago
- Business
- India Today
ED's crackdown on Anil Ambani, web of bank frauds: All you need to know
Trouble is mounting for industrialist Anil Ambani as a slew of investigations by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and other financial regulators into alleged fraud have unearthed what officials are calling a "well-planned and thought-after conspiracy" to siphon off public money, launder thousands of crores, and manipulate the banking system through a network of shell firms, backdated approvals, fake bank guarantees, and offshore fraud case centres around unpaid loans amounting to nearly Rs 17,000 crore, which were taken by various firms linked to Anil Ambani. Officials are now trying to trace the money trail and who were all involved in diverting a comprehensive breakdown of what's under investigation and where things stand:TIMELINES OF INVESTIGATION AND FIRs2022: The CBI registers two FIRs naming Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RAAGA) of companies.2024: Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) registers FIR No. 0131/2024 on November 11, 2024, leading ED to register an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) and launch a deeper probe into a fake bank guarantee racket linked to Ambani 24, 2025: ED conducts massive searches across over 35 premises linked with over 50 companies and 25 1, 2025: ED arrests Partha Sarathi Biswal, MD of Odisha-based Biswal Tradelink Pvt Ltd in the fake guarantee case linked to Reliance 3,000 CRORE YES BANK LOAN DIVERSIONBetween 2017 and 2019, the ED unearthed a major financial fraud in which Yes Bank disbursed approximately Rs 3,000 crore in loans to RAAGA companies, allegedly in exchange for kickbacks to Yes Bank promoters. Red flags found by ED include:Back-dated credit approval memorandumsNo due diligence or credit analysisLoans disbursed even before sanctionFunds routed through shell companiesMisrepresentation of financials and evergreening of loansCrucially, just before loan sanctions, money was received in matters related to Yes Bank promoters — indicating that there was an exchange involving bribery and criminal & NFRA RED FLAGS ON RHFL CORPORATE LOANSIn another leg of the probe, Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) is under the scanner for a dramatic increase in corporate lending—from Rs 3,742 crore in FY18 to Rs 8,670 crore in FY19 — with blatant disregard for risk, compliance, and internal controls. Issues flagged include:Expedited and irregular loan approvalsCommon directors and addresses for borrowersOnward lending on the same dayLoans disbursed to companies with weak financialsBoth Sebi and the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) have submitted findings to ED, which is examining potential securities fraud, accounting manipulations, and cheating of BANK GUARANTEES AND RS 68.2 CRORE SECI FRAUDThe ED's recent arrest of Partha Sarathi Biswal, the Managing Director of Biswal Tradelink Pvt Ltd (BTPL), reveals a fake bank guarantee racket that was used to dupe Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).BTPL allegedly fabricated SBI endorsements and used a spoofed domain name— impersonate SBI and convince SECI of a Rs 68.2 crore bank guarantee for received Rs 5.4 crore from Reliance Power Ltd for providing this forged found seven undisclosed bank accounts, no statutory records, and multiple dummy directors at seized in raids carried out on Ambani group entities in July 2025 have been directly linked to this bank guarantee case, further tightening the LOAN FRAUDAnil Ambani's flagship telecom firm, Reliance Communications (RCom), has defaulted on over Rs 14,000 crore, and has been officially classified as "fraudulent" by SBI, as confirmed by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in also cheated Canara Bank of over Rs 1,050 crore, with SBI preparing to file a formal complaint with the classifications follow RBI guidelines on fraud recognition and are paving the way for criminal FOREIGN ASSETS AND OFFSHORE TRAILThe ED is also probing undisclosed foreign bank accounts and offshore assets linked to Anil Ambani and his group entities. These assets are believed to be layered and concealed using complex financial structures and nominee ownership EXECUTIVES UNDER ED SCANNERSenior functionaries of the Anil Ambani group are being investigated for their role in the alleged fraud and laundering schemes. They are - Sanjay Dangi, Sateesh Seth, Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, Amit Dangi, Puneet Garg, Chhaya Virani, Akash Suri, Jitendra Sanghvi, Amit Bapna, Pinkesh Shah, Ravindra Sudhalkar, Anurag Sharma, Hasit Shukla, Kamalkant Gupta, Varun Agarwal, Amrish Shah, Sandeep Khosla Yashpal, and Pradip LIES AHEAD?With multiple FIRs filed in the case, ED's ECIR, seizures, arrests, and inter-agency coordination with Sebi, NFRA, NHB, and the CBI, the investigation into Anil Ambani's empire is widening each enforcement agencies believe this is just the beginning, with forward linkages, arrests, and possibly prosecution under PMLA, Companies Act, and IPC expected in the coming the probe intensifies, the once-highly reputed business tycoon now faces a rapidly unravelling legal and financial crisis — one that could redefine India's corporate fraud enforcement landscape.- EndsTune InMust Watch
Hans India
4 days ago
- Business
- Hans India
ED arrests Odisha-based firm's MD
Bhubaneswar: Following day-long multi-city searches, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested the Managing Director (MD) of an Odisha-based company in connection with a fake bank guarantee scam, an official said on Saturday. Partha Sarathi Biswal, Managing Director of M/s Biswal Tradelink Private Limited (BTPL), was arrested on Friday after searches in Bhubaneswar and Kolkata at locations linked to the Odisha-based company, said an official statement. After the arrest, Biswal was sent to ED custody. As per the ED, the Central agency recorded an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) and initiated investigation into the fake bank guarantee scam on the basis of a case registered by Delhi's Economic Offences Wing (EOW), on November 11, 2024. The case was registered against BTPL, its directors and others, for providing fake bank guarantee, which was submitted to Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI). Investigation by the ED revealed that BTPL fraudulently arranged and submitted fake bank guarantees of Rs 68.2 crore along with forged SBI endorsements and fabricated confirmations for an SECI tender. For providing this bank guarantee, Rs 5.40 crore was received by BTPL from Reliance Power, the ED statement said. Evidence confirms the use of fake documents in the name of certain banks and fake email IDs in the name of SBI, the probe agency said. The probe reveals BTPL, a small company incorporated in 2019, maintained multiple undisclosed bank accounts and carried out transactions disproportionate to its declared turnover. 'Many violations of the Companies Act are found. No statutory records are found at registered address -- such as books of accounts, shareholders' registers. Dummy directors are found to be used just to sign the documents,' the ED statement said. At least seven undisclosed bank accounts of the company were found and proceeds of crime of crores of rupees have been traced to these accounts. Sources said the Central agency, during investigations, found that the company, its directors and associates were engaged in the issuance of fake bank guarantees against a commission of 8 per cent.
