Reliance Group (RAAGA firms) Chairman and Managing Director Anil Ambani has been called by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with its probe into an alleged ₹17,000-crore loan fraud case.
The sources pointed out that Ambani has been directed to appear before ED officials at the agency headquarters in New Delhi on August 5.
The summons comes after recent ED raids on properties and people associated with the Reliance Group. The operation, which was completed last week, involved searches at several premises in Mumbai and Delhi. In the course of the raids, officials are said to have confiscated a massive amount of documents, computer equipment, hard disks, and other materials believed to be connected to the case.
The move is part of a wider money laundering investigation, which was first initiated in relation to the loan fraud case of Yes Bank. The ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are investigating jointly allegations of financial irregularities, such as diversion of funds, fraudulent issuance of loans, and money laundering of unwholesome funds.
A key focus of the ED investigation is the allegations of diversion of substantial bank funds via a chain of shell companies and then misuse by other entities in the Reliance Group. Concurrently, the CBI is reported to be conducting a separate investigation into other group companies owned by Ambani.
The money laundering case is related to CBI FIRs that led the ED to initiate proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency is also proceeding on intelligence and evidence provided by other regulatory agencies and institutions such as the National Housing Bank, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), and Bank of Baroda.
Evidence in the preliminary findings, according to ED officials, suggests a systematic plot to siphon public money, possibly defrauding banks, investors, shareholders, and financial institutions. One of the angles that are under investigation is the charges of bribery against bank officials, including top leadership at Yes Bank.
Investigators have revealed that loans totaling approximately ₹3,000 crore were illegally paid out by Yes Bank between 2017 and 2019. Significantly, the ED has tracked suspicious transactions in which money was routed to the bank's promoters just before the loans were approved. The agency is now investigating the potential quid pro quo between the loan sanctions and the transfers.
The investigation goes deeper and more people and corporate players could face the probe in what seems to be one of the biggest financial fraud investigations into a high-profile business group in recent history.
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