Anil Ambani in Rs 17,000 cr bank loan fraud

ED’s interrogation on August 5, SBI and Yes Bank’s role also under investigation

 Mumbai (Team Newsbuddy):The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued summons to Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani in the alleged bank loan fraud case of Rs 17,000 crore. He has been directed to appear for questioning at the ED headquarters in Delhi on August 5. This action was taken after raids at 35 locations of 50 companies and 25 individuals associated with the Reliance Group across the country.

Basis of investigation and allegations

The investigation is being conducted under PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act). It is alleged that Reliance Group companies took a loan of about ₹ 3,000 crore from Yes Bank between 2017–2019 and it was diverted through shell companies. According to the SEBI report, Reliance Infrastructure sent more than ₹10,000 crore as inter-corporate deposits (ICD) to other group entities through CLE Private Limited. CLE was deliberately not declared as a related party to avoid approval of the audit committee and shareholders.

Role of banks

Yes Bank: A loan of ₹3,000 crore was given to Reliance Group between 2017–2019, which indicated transfer of funds to the bank’s promoters before loan approval. State Bank of India (SBI): RCom and Anil Ambani have been declared fraudsters. SBI has an exposure of ₹2,227.64 crore in fund-based loans and bank guarantees of ₹786.52 crore in RCom. Canara Bank: RCom has been accused of fraud of more than ₹1,050 crore. Bank of Baroda and National Housing Bank have also shared relevant information with the ED.

SEBI action and report

SEBI imposed a fine of over ₹625 crore on Anil Ambani and 24 other entities and banned them from the securities market for five years. The report said that Anil Ambani was the non-executive chairman of Reliance Infrastructure till March 2022 and held more than 40% stake as of March 2019.

Reliance Group’s response

Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure said in a statement to the stock exchange that the ED action has no impact on their business, financial performance or shareholders. They also clarified that Anil Ambani is not on the board of these companies and has no connection with RCom and RHFL.

Further action

*ED, NFRA and IBBI are conducting independent investigations into the matter.

*The CBI has also registered two FIRs, involving allegations of bribery, loan diversion and fraud.

*Several legal actions are expected in the case in the coming days.

*Possible additional information that may be added:

*Nature of documents and digital devices seized by the ED.

*Role of other Reliance Group companies, such as RHFL and RCom’s financial dealings.

*Role of then Yes Bank officials and possible action against them.

*Status of ongoing mediation process in the Supreme Court and settlement filed in the Bombay High Court.