Reliance Power has issued a statement addressing reports about the Enforcement Directorate provisionally attaching assets worth Rs 10,117 crore due to an alleged violation of PMLA. The company clarified that a large portion of the value, Rs 8,078 crore, relates to Reliance Communications, which has been separated from the Reliance Group since 2019 and is currently in insolvency proceedings.
Earlier today, reports claiming that Enforcement Directorate has attached fresh assets worth Rs 1,120 crore as part of its alleged money laundering probe against the companies of Reliance Group of Anil Ambani started circulating on multiple media channels.
The PTI report stated that 18 properties, including the Reliance Centre in Mumbai’s Ballard Estate, fixed deposits, bank balances, and shareholdings in unquoted investments of the Reliance Anil Ambani Group, have been provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED has also attached another set of seven properties of Reliance Infrastructure, two properties of Reliance Power and nine properties of other Reliance Group companies.
Earlier, the agency had attached properties worth over Rs 8,997 crore in the bank fraud cases related to Reliance Communications, Reliance Commercial Finance, and Reliance Home Finance. The total attachment in the case against the Reliance Group is now Rs 10,117 crore.
Companies say most attached assets belong to RCOM under CIRP
In separate statements to stock exchanges on Friday, Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure said that of the total ₹10,117 crore of provisionally attached assets cited by the ED, about ₹8,078 crore relates to Reliance Communications (RCOM). They pointed out that RCOM has not been part of the Reliance Group since 2019 and is currently under the corporate insolvency resolution process, managed by a resolution professional under the supervision of the NCLT and a committee of creditors led by SBI.
The companies further said that roughly ₹339 crore, along with other non-core assets of around ₹330 crore, pertain to Reliance Infrastructure, while around ₹582 crore is linked to independent companies with which the Reliance Group has “no involvement”. Both firms stressed that they continue to operate normally and remain committed to protecting shareholder interests, and will take appropriate legal steps based on counsel.
Reliance Power also clarified that all real estate at Ballard Estate in Mumbai, including its own assets valued at about ₹397 crore, is held on a long-term lease from the Bombay Port Trust. The company added that its windmill assets worth a little over ₹10 crore have been provisionally attached.
Fund diversion allegation
As per an ANI report, the ED investigations have revealed large-scale diversion of public money by Reliance group companies, including RCOM, RHFL, RCFL, Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Power.
The agency said that between 2017 and 2019, Yes Bank invested Rs 2,965 crore in RHFL and Rs 2,045 crore in RCFL instruments, which later became non-performing assets. The probe further alleges that over Rs 11,000 crore of public money was funnelled through mutual fund investments and Yes Bank lending, circumventing SEBI conflict-of-interest rules, the report said.
The report adds that ED maintains that the funds reached the companies through a “circuitous route” involving Reliance Nippon Mutual Fund and Yes Bank.
Bank fraud investigation
Separately, ED is probing a Central Bureau of Investigation FIR filed against RCOM, Anil Ambani and associates regarding loans worth Rs 40,185 crore taken between 2010 and 2012.
Nine banks have declared these accounts fraudulent. The agency claims over Rs 13,600 crore was diverted for loan evergreening, Rs 12,600 crore was sent to associated entities, and more than Rs 1,800 crore was parked in investments before being redirected.
