ED Issues Summons to Anil Ambani in ₹17,000-Crore Fraud Probe

Reliance Group chairman and managing director Anil Ambani has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The case pertains to an ongoing investigation into an alleged ₹17,000 crore loan fraud case. The ED has called Ambani for questioning in the New Delhi headquarters on August 5.

Probed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), ED’s investigation is scrutinising the activities of approximately 50 companies and 25 individuals associated with Reliance Group. This development comes at a time when the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) shared findings from a separate probe with various financial regulatory bodies.

SEBI’s report highlighted that Reliance Infrastructure diverted funds to the tune of ₹10,000 crore via CLE Pvt Ltd. This company was not disclosed as a related party, and the diversion appeared in the form of inter-corporate deposits. Documents show that CLE officials used email addresses linked to the Reliance ADA Group, suggesting close ties to the organisation.

A person close to the Reliance Group commented on the SEBI findings, stating, “Reliance Infrastructure publicly disclosed this matter on February 9, and SEBI did not make any independent discovery.” The source added that exposure amounted to ₹6,500 crore and not 10,000 crore mentioned by SEBI.

“When the exposure was Rs 6,500 crore, how can the diversion be Rs 10,000 crore? Reliance Infra has already gone through mandatory mediation under a retired Supreme Court judge and filed for recovery before the Bombay High Court,” the source said.

SEBI stated that FY17 and FY21, Reliance Infrastructure wrote off Rs 10,110 crore due to provisions and impairments. As of March 31, 2022, dealings with CLE amounted to ₹8,302 crore and involved various financial instruments. The market regulator's probe spans transactions from FY16 to FY23, which identified significant asset allocations to CLE, not formally disclosed to shareholders or auditors.