MUMBAI, Aug 1: Anil Ambani has been summoned for questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to its headquarters in Delhi on Tuesday, August 5, in connection with an alleged loan fraud investigation, involving claims as high as Rs 17,000 crore, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) sources stated today.
The case pertains to alleged financial wrongdoing, including the misuse of more than Rs 10,000 crore in loans by different companies in the group. A major part of the probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is focussed on a Rs 3,000-crore loan granted by Yes Bank to the Anil Ambani-led Reliance ADA Group between 2017 and 2019, which the ED believes may have been misused.
Last week, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided 50 business entities linked to the Anil Ambani-led Reliance ADA Group and 25 persons under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED raided at least 35 locations in Mumbai on July 24 in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged bank loan fraud, besides several other allegations of financial irregularities worth crores of rupees by some group companies.
However, the Anil Ambani-led Reliance ADA Group has rejected all allegations of diverting funds through inter-corporate deposits (ICDs) involving its group company Reliance Infrastructure (R-Infra) and a previously undisclosed entity called CLE Pvt Ltd.
Yet, according to Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) allegations being probed by the ED, R-Infra allegedly moved approximately Rs 10,000 crore to group companies through CLE Pvt Ltd, without declaring it as a related company, through the guise of ICDs, equity investments and corporate guarantees. These transactions were allegedly carried out between FY2013 and FY2023, with total exposure to CLE Pvt Ltd, reported to be Rs 8,302 crore by the SEBI, besides write-offs amounting Rs 10,110 crore during FY 2017 21.
The Anil Ambani-led Reliance ADA Group has countered these claims, emphasising that R-Infra publicly disclosed the matter on February 9, 2025, and that SEBI did not make any independent discovery. The group emphasised that R-Infra’s actual exposure was Rs 6,500 crore and not Rs 10,000 crore. The Rs 10,000 crore claim has been attributed by the company to sensationalised media reports.
“The company wishes to clarify regarding today’s media article pertaining to an over 10-year-old matter as regards alleged diversion of Rs 10,000 crore to an undisclosed related party, when the exposure as per the disclosures in the Company’s financial statements is only about Rs 6,500 crore. In this connection, attention is invited to the fact that Reliance Infrastructure had publicly disclosed this matter on 9 February 2025, nearly 6 months ago,” a Reliance Infrastructure statement issued on Friday stated.
“Reliance Infrastructure Ltd had a net exposure of about Rs 6,500 crore which was duly disclosed in its financial statements for 4 years. Reliance Infrastructure diligently pursued recovery of its dues in this matter. Through mandatory mediation proceedings conducted by a retired Supreme Court judge and the mediation award filed before the Bombay High Court, Reliance Infrastructure arrived at a settlement to recover its 100% exposure of about Rs 6,500 crore. Further, Anil D Ambani has not been on the Board of Reliance Infrastructure for more than 3 years, from March 2022,” the Reliance Infrastructure statement mentioned.
The company also stated that recovery of the Rs 6,500 crore exposure is underway through court-monitored mediation led by a retired Supreme Court judge, with pending dues from Odisha-based distribution companies currently before the Bombay High Court.
(UNI)
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