India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached properties valued at over Rs 7,545 crore belonging to billionaire Anil Ambani, his flagship companies and associated firms in an escalating money laundering probe linked to alleged bank frauds, officials said Monday.
The attachments, executed through five orders under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), include a sprawling 32-acre parcel at the Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) in Navi Mumbai – valued at Rs 4,462 crore – and Ambani’s private residence in Mumbai’s upscale Pali Hill locality, ED sources told reporters.
Other seized assets span prime real estate in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Pune, Thane, Hyderabad, Chennai and Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari district.
Among them are the office space in Churchgate’s Nagin Mahal, flats in Noida’s BHA Millenium and Hyderabad’s Camus Capri apartments, plus land parcels held by Reliance Infrastructure Ltd and entities such as Adhar Property Consultancy, Mohanbir Hi-tech Build, Gamesa Investment Management, Vihaan43 Realty and Campion Properties.
Four initial orders were issued October 31, followed by the fifth targeting DAKC on Monday, the agency said in a statement.
ED investigators claimed Reliance Communications Ltd (RCOM) and sister firms diverted over Rs 13,600 crore to evergreen loans, routed Rs 12,600 crore to related parties and parked Rs 1,800 crore in mutual funds and fixed deposits – all in violation of banking sanctions.
Loans worth Rs 19,694 crore remain unpaid, with five lenders classifying RCOM accounts as fraud.
A parallel FEMA probe uncovered Rs 40 crore allegedly siphoned from a Jaipur-Reengus highway project via Surat shell firms to Dubai, part of a suspected Rs 600-crore hawala network, sources said.
Yes Bank’s Rs 5,010 crore exposure to Reliance Home Finance and Reliance Commercial Finance turned non-performing by late 2019, with Rs 3,337 crore still outstanding, the ED claimed.
Investigators say the lender received funds from Reliance Nippon Mutual Fund before channeling them, circumventing SEBI conflict-of-interest rules.
Reliance Infrastructure, in a stock exchange filing, stated the attachments would not disrupt operations or affect stakeholders. Ambani stepped down from its board over 3.5 years ago, it noted.
Company sources stressed DAKC and Delhi’s Reliance Centre belong to insolvency-hit RCOM.
The ED, quoting its ongoing probe, vowed to trace further proceeds of crime and restore losses to public-sector banks under PMLA provisions. Ambani was questioned in August after raids on 35 premises linked to 50 entities. The case originates from a CBI FIR.
