Industrialist Anil Ambani joins ED's money laundering investigation

New Delhi [India], February 26 : Industrialist Anil Ambani on Thursday appeared at the Enforcement Directorate's headquarters in Delhi to join a money laundering investigation against him.
Ambani deposed before the investigators at around 11 am to record his statement in the case regarding which he was summoned earlier.
The move comes after the ED attached the Mumbai's Pali Hill Residential property 'Abode' of the industrialist worth Rs 3,716.83 crores in connection with its ongoing money laundering probe linked to Reliance Communications Ltd's alleged bank fraud case. ED's Special Task Force (Headquarters) attached the property under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). Earlier, part of this property was attached to the extent of Rs 473.17 crores.
With the fresh action, the cumulative attachment of properties in the group now stands at over Rs 15,700 crore.
ED had initiated an investigation based on the Central Bureau of Investigation's First Information Report (FIR) under sections 120-B, 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and section 13(2) read with section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1989 against Reliance Communications Ltd (RCOM), Anil Ambani, and others.
ED said RCOM and its group companies availed loans from domestic and foreign lenders, of which a total amount of Rs 40,185 crores is outstanding.
On August 5 last year, the ED had also recorded the statement of Ambani on various points pertaining to loan transactions that were put to him. He then sought a period of seven days to furnish the requisite details and supporting documents. He was then questioned in connection with an ongoing investigation into an alleged Rs 17,000-crore loan fraud case.
ED is probing the loan fraud of Reliance Communications Ltd of over Rs 14,000 crores. It is noteworthy that Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary confirmed in Parliament that the State Bank of India (SBI) had classified Reliance Communications (RCom) and its promoter, Anil Ambani, as "fraudulent" in accordance with RBI guidelines. SBI reported this classification to the RBI and is preparing to file a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Reliance Communications Ltd is also alleged to have cheated Canara Bank of more than Rs. 1,050 crores.
Highly placed sources confirmed that Undisclosed Foreign Bank Accounts and Foreign Assets are also being investigated.
Earlier, ED had also said to have found that Reliance Mutual Fund invested Rs 2850 crore in AT-1 bonds of YES Bank (perpetual FDs) for a suspected quid pro quo. "These bonds were eventually written down, and money was siphoned off. This was the money of the public, the mutual fund investors. CBI is also investigating this issue."
Furthermore, based on information received from SEBI, ED has found that Reliance Infra has diverted a large sum of money disguised as ICDs to Group Companies of RAAGA through C Company, an undisclosed related party company. Reliance Infra did not disclose C Company as its Related Party in order to avoid proper approval from shareholder and the audit committee.
"It was also hidden presumably to circumvent checks and balances imposed on related party transactions as per laws," the agency has said.
It has been found that R Infra has taken a haircut of Rs 5,480 crore, and only Rs 4 crore has been received in cash.
"Remaining Rs 6,499 crores has been settled in the form of assignment and transfer of assets/economic rights mainly in certain Discoms. These Discoms don't have any business for many years and are not operational. Therefore, there are zero chances of recovery of this amount. The loan diversion in this case is over Rs 10,000 crores," the ED has said earlier.
Last year, ED's Special Task Force attached over 132 acres of land in Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) in Navi Mumbai worth Rs 4,462.81 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
This attachment comes in connection with the ongoing probe into the bank fraud cases involving Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCOM), Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd., and Reliance Home Finance Ltd.
The total value of assets attached by the ED in cases linked to the Reliance Anil Ambani Group has now risen to over Rs 7,500 crore, including earlier attachments worth Rs 3,083 crore.
The money-laundering probe stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR registered under sections 120-B, 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, naming RCOM, Anil Ambani, and others.
According to the ED, RCOM and its group companies availed loans from both domestic and foreign lenders between 2010 and 2012, with total outstanding dues amounting to Rs 40,185 crore. "Five banks have since declared the accounts of the group as fraudulent."
The investigation has revealed that loans raised by one entity were used to repay borrowings of other group companies, routed to related parties, or invested in mutual funds -- in violation of the loan terms. The agency alleged that over Rs 13,600 crore was diverted for evergreening of loans, Rs 12,600 crore was funnelled to connected parties, and around Rs 1,800 crore was invested in fixed deposits and mutual funds, which were later liquidated and rerouted to group entities.
The ED also detected large-scale misuse of bill discounting mechanisms and alleged siphoning of funds abroad through foreign remittances.
The agency reiterated its commitment to pursuing financial crime cases and ensuring that the proceeds of crime are recovered and restituted to rightful claimants.