After three days, the Enforcement Directorate has concluded its raid on all locations linked to Anil Ambani group of companies. The ED action was part of a broader probe into alleged money laundering-linked bank loan fraud.
In a joint statement issued on Sunday, Reliance Infra and Reliance Power confirmed the completion of ED’s search operations and reiterated their full cooperation with the authorities. “The company and all its officials have fully cooperated and will continue to cooperate with the authority,” they said.
The companies further asserted that the ED’s actions have had no impact on their business operations, financial performance, shareholders, employees or other stakeholders.
Three days into the raids
The ED raids started on July 24 (Thursday), over an alleged Rs 3,000 crore bank loan fraud linked to money laundering, among several other allegations of financial irregularities in related companies.
The agency raided more than 35 Ambani related premises in Mumbai since Thursday. The companies distanced themselves from the core allegations, clarifying that the probe pertains to transactions involving Reliance Communications (RCOM) and Reliance Home Finance (RHFL). These entities are not linked to the operational structure of RPower or Reliance Infra.
Anil Ambani, who stepped down from RCOM’s board in 2019, currently does not serve on the board of any Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) company, the firms said in the joint statement.
The ED search operations targeted over 35 locations across India, involving more than 50 companies and 25 individuals. However, Anil Ambani’s Mumbai residence was not among the sites searched, the Economic Times reported.
SBI calls RCOM and Anil Ambani ‘fraud’
The money laundering probe started with at least two FIRs filed by the CBI and multiple reports shared with the ED by key financial regulatory bodies, PTI reported.
According to ED officials, the reports were submitted by the National Housing Bank, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) and Bank of Baroda. These documents allegedly point to a “well-planned and thought-out scheme” to siphon off public funds through fraudulent means. The findings suggest that banks, shareholders, investors and other public institutions were deliberately misled and defrauded, the news agency’s report further stated.
Adding to the gravity of the case, the Union government recently informed Parliament that the State Bank of India (SBI) had classified Reliance Communications (RCOM), along with Anil Ambani, as “fraud”. The bank is also in the process of filing a formal complaint with the CBI.