New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a fresh money laundering case against Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani, Reliance Communications (RCom) and others in connection with an alleged Rs 2,929 crore bank fraud.
This action is based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in August, officials said. In this FIR, the CBI had accused Ambani and RCom of causing loss to the State Bank of India (SBI). Premises related to Ambani and RCom had also been searched.
These searches were conducted at six locations in Mumbai. The aim was to gather evidence to establish how bank funds were misused and loans diverted.
The SBI had classified RCom and Ambani as “fraud” on June 13 and sent a report to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on June 24. Later, two more banks declared him and the company as frauds.
“We have taken cognisance of the responses to our Show Cause Notice and after due examination of the same, it is concluded that sufficient reasons have not been provided by the respondent, to explain the non-adherence to the agreed terms and conditions of the loan documents or the irregularities observed in the conduct of the account of RCL (Reliance Capital Limited) to the satisfaction of the bank,” SBI wrote in its letter to the RBI.
Ambani had also been questioned by the ED in a money laundering case linked to alleged multiple bank loan fraud cases worth crores against his group companies.
The agency has been investigating the alleged diversion of around Rs 3,000 crore in loans given to Reliance Group companies by Yes Bank between 2017 and 2019. It was ascertained that the bank promoters had received payments just before the loans were sanctioned, indicating a quid pro quo arrangement.