Latest news with #public funds
Zawya
6 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
India's financial crime agency probes Anil Ambani's Reliance Group, source says
India's financial crime-fighting agency searched 35 locations linked to Reliance Anil Ambani Group as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering and siphoning of public funds, a government source said on Thursday. The Enforcement Directorate alleges the group orchestrated a 'well-planned' scheme to siphon off bank loans from YES Bank worth 30 billion rupees ($350 million) between 2017 and 2019 to many shell companies, the source said on condition of anonymity, as he is not authorised to speak to the media. Anil Ambani's Reliance group entities are accused of paying bribes to YES Bank officials before loans were disbursed, the source said, adding that loan approvals violated the bank's processes. Reliance and YES Bank did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Several group firms of Anil Ambani, the younger brother of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, have gone into bankruptcy since 2017. YES Bank, from which Anil Ambani group firms had borrowed heavily, was declared insolvent in 2020 and rescued by a group of Indian lenders in a plan approved by the central bank. Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp is seeking a 20% stake in a deal that has yet to get regulatory approval. The probe also found gross violations in YES Bank's loan approval process, such as lending to companies with weak financials, backdating credit memos, "evergreening" loans - issuing fresh loans to avoid labelling assets as nonperforming - and misrepresenting financials. YES Bank's former promoter, Rana Kapoor, was charged with bank fraud by the financial crime agency in 2020 and later arrested. He pleaded not guilty and was granted bail in 2024 by a special court in India's financial capital of Mumbai, according to local media reports. Anil Ambani's group entities have been subject to several regulatory actions in recent years. In August 2024, the markets regulator SEBI barred Anil Ambani and 24 others from securities markets for five years, citing fund diversion from Reliance Home Finance. Shares of Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Power fell as much as 5% on Thursday after the news of the latest probe circulated. ($1 = 86.3300 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Nikunj Ohri in New Delhi, writing by Shubham Batra; Editing by William Mallard)
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
India's financial crime agency probes Anil Ambani's Reliance Group, source says
July 24 (Reuters) - India's financial crime-fighting agency searched 35 locations linked to Reliance Anil Ambani Group as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering and siphoning of public funds, a government source said on Thursday. The Enforcement Directorate alleges the group orchestrated a 'well-planned' scheme to siphon off bank loans from YES Bank ( opens new tab worth 30 billion rupees ($350 million) between 2017 and 2019 to many shell companies, the source said on condition of anonymity, as he is not authorised to speak to the media. Anil Ambani's Reliance group entities are accused of paying bribes to YES Bank officials before loans were disbursed, the source said, adding that loan approvals violated the bank's processes. Reliance and YES Bank did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Several group firms of Anil Ambani, the younger brother of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, have gone into bankruptcy since 2017. YES Bank, from which Anil Ambani group firms had borrowed heavily, was declared insolvent in 2020 and rescued by a group of Indian lenders in a plan approved by the central bank. Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp is seeking a 20% stake in a deal that has yet to get regulatory approval. The probe also found gross violations in YES Bank's loan approval process, such as lending to companies with weak financials, backdating credit memos, "evergreening" loans - issuing fresh loans to avoid labelling assets as nonperforming - and misrepresenting financials. YES Bank's former promoter, Rana Kapoor, was charged with bank fraud by the financial crime agency in 2020 and later arrested. He pleaded not guilty and was granted bail in 2024 by a special court in India's financial capital of Mumbai, according to local media reports. Anil Ambani's group entities have been subject to several regulatory actions in recent years. In August 2024, the markets regulator SEBI barred Anil Ambani and 24 others from securities markets for five years, citing fund diversion from Reliance Home Finance. Shares of Reliance Infrastructure ( opens new tab and Reliance Power ( opens new tab fell as much as 5% on Thursday after the news of the latest probe circulated. ($1 = 86.3300 Indian rupees)
LBCI
6 days ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Boutros Harb denies misconduct, calls for investigative committee over telecom ministry accusations
Former MP Boutros Harb responded from Parliament to the accusations against him as a former telecommunications minister, saying: 'Today I stand accused, even though I have always had a clear conscience, as I never broke the law but rather protected public funds.' He added, 'I was the first MP and minister in Lebanon to file a wealth disclosure in accordance with the illicit enrichment law. I refused to let this case remain hanging over my head as an accusation of waste, when everything I did was aimed at preventing waste.' Regarding the lease contract for the Kassabian building, Harb said he has documents proving the building is structurally unfit to bear the weight of the equipment and requires renovation. 'I was the one who decided to cancel the contract and stop the waste. The real waste of public funds would have been not to cancel it,' he said. 'I'm surprised Judge Bayram ruled against prosecuting those who signed the original contract.' He concluded, 'I have never committed a single violation in my life. I support the formation of an investigative committee and am fully prepared to cooperate with any committee that is established.'
Zawya
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Tunisia: President Saied urges measures against environmental violations
Tunis – President Kais Saied on Thursday gave instructions to take urgent measures, in coordination with all relevant departments, to put an end to the ongoing and flagrant environmental violations that have persisted for years, and to protect the coastal strip across all regions of the country, pending the adoption of a new strategy aimed at definitively ending the squandering of public funds and all forms and sources of environmental pollution. During a meeting with Environment Minister Habib Abid, the President recalled that a healthy environment is a human right, as quoted as saying in a Presidency of the Republic press release. 'The State, under the Constitution, is obligated to guarantee the right to a sound and balanced environment, to contribute to climate safety, and to provide the necessary means to eliminate environmental pollution.' Saied paid an unannounced visit late Wednesday night to Monastir governorate to assess the environmental situation in the Gulf of Monastir. He visited the beach in the delegation of Ksibet El Mediouni, which recently witnessed an environmental disaster, where he spoke with several citizens who expressed their discontent over the catastrophic environmental conditions. Following that, the President went to the water pumping station in the city of Lamta, then to the city of Sayada, before heading at dawn to the wastewater discharge sites in the areas of El Amoud and M'Riguib in the delegation of Menzel Temime, and to the Ain Garnez area in the delegation of Kelibia in Nabeul governorate. MP for the delegations of Kelibia and Hammam El Ghzez Fadhel Ben Turkia told reporters on Thursday that the Head of State observed during his visit to Kelibia, specifically to Oued El Hajar, the 'catastrophic environmental situation in the wadi, which has become a dumping ground for waste, garbage, and polluted water discharged by nearby factories.' He explained that Oued El Hajar has become a serious environmental problem, particularly as its waters flow directly into the beach of Ain Grinz, 'which is likely to be declared off-limits for swimming due to its disastrous environmental condition.' He pointed out that the environmental situation now poses a real threat to the region, which is considered one of Tunisia's most beautiful tourist destinations. © Tap 2022 Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
