ED attaches Anil Ambani group-linked assets worth nearly Rs 9,000 crore to date

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it has attached multiple properties belonging to Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group entities worth Rs 1,452.51 crore in the money laundering case.

In an official statement, ED said it has provisionally attached multiple buildings in Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) and Millennium Business Park, Navi Mumbai, as well as plots of land and buildings in Pune, Chennai, and Bhubaneswar, cumulatively worth Rs 1,452.51 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

It may be recalled that ED had earlier attached properties worth over Rs 7,545 crore in the bank fraud cases of Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCOM), Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd., and Reliance Home Finance Ltd.

According to the statement, ED initiated an investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by CBI under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Prevention of Corruption Act, 1989, against RCOM, Anil Ambani and others.

“RCOM and its group companies availed loans from domestic and foreign lenders from the period of 2010-2012 onwards, of which a total amount of Rs. 40,185 crore is outstanding. Nine banks have declared the loan accounts of the Group as fraudulent,” it added.

ED investigation further revealed that loans taken by one entity from one bank were utilised for repayment of loans taken by other entities from other banks, transfer to related parties, and investments in mutual funds, which was in contravention of the terms and conditions of the sanction letter of the loans.

In particular, RCOM and its group companies diverted over Rs 13,600 crore for evergreening of loans; over Rs 12,600 crore was diverted to connected parties and over Rs 1,800 crore was invested in FDs/MFs, etc., which was substantially liquidated for rerouting to group entities.

“The total attachment in these cases stands at Rs 8,997 crore. ED is actively pursuing perpetrators of financial crimes and is committed to restituting Proceeds of Crime to their rightful claimants. Further investigation is in progress,” said the regulator.

Meanwhile, Reliance ADAG Group Chairman Anil Ambani skipped the ED summons for the second time to appear for questioning at the investigative agency’s Delhi headquarters on Monday this week, in a FEMA investigation linked to the Jaipur–Reengus highway project. Anil Ambani has sought permission to appear virtually.

IANS