Industrialist Anil Ambani Tuesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in New Delhi, after he was summoned for questioning as part of its money laundering probe into an alleged Rs 3,000 crore bank loan fraud involving companies of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group.
The 66-year-old industrialist’s statement will be recorded at the ED headquarters under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Last month, the ED carried out searches at over 35 locations linked to Anil Ambani and concluded their investigation on July 27. It also issued a Look-out Circular notice (LOC) to prevent him from travelling abroad, officials told The Indian Express.
The probe agency is investigating allegations of illegal diversion of loans worth around Rs 3,000 crore disbursed by Yes Bank to the group’s companies between 2017 and 2019. The probe agency is also examining whether there was a quid pro quo involved in the loan — specifically, if bribes were paid to bank officials, including Yes Bank promoters.
Earlier, a spokesperson for Reliance Power said in a statement, “The action by ED has concluded at all locations. The company and all its officials have fully cooperated and will continue to cooperate with the authority. Action by ED has no impact on the business operations, financial performance, shareholders, employees, or any other stakeholders of the company. The same appears to pertain to allegations concerning transactions of Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM) or Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL), which are over 10 years old.”
The ED probe has found alleged violations in Yes Bank’s loan approvals to the group’s companies, including backdated credit approval memorandums and proposals for investments made without any due diligence or credit analysis — violations of the bank’s credit policy, among other issues.
The ED has also alleged that Reliance Mutual Fund invested around Rs 2,850 crore in AT1 bonds of Yes Bank in a suspected quid pro quo arrangement.