NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate questioned Jai Anmol Ambani, son of industrialist Anil Ambani, for the second consecutive day on Saturday in a money laundering case linked to an alleged bank loan fraud, officials said.
The statements of 34-year-old Anmol Ambai were recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for the first time on Friday, and the session continued on Saturday. The ED probe is related to Yes Bank, which had an exposure of about Rs 6,000 crore in the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group as of March 31, 2017, which doubled to Rs 13,000 crore within a year.
Earlier on December 15, the agency had questioned Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor in the same case. It is alleged that Kapoor and industrialist Anil Ambani entered into a "quid-pro-quo" arrangement that resulted in significant losses for Yes Bank. While Rana Kapoor was at the helm of Yes Bank, Yes Bank had significant exposure of about Rs 6000 crore to Reliance Anil Ambani Group (ADAG Group) as on March 31, 2017 and exposure doubled to Rs 13,000 Crore as on March 31, 2018. During this time, the bank invested over Rs 5000 crores in Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) which were ADAG Group Companies.
A large portion of these investments turned into Non-Performing Investments (NPI). The bank subsequently suffered a loss of approximately Rs 3300 crore from these dealings. These were not standard business transactions but a "quid-pro-quo". In exchange for Yes Bank's investments, ADAG companies granted loans to firms controlled by Rana Kapoor's family members.
“Rana Kapoor and Anil Ambani held private business meetings, often without other Yes Bank officials present, to agree on these illegal arrangements. Rana Kapoor then instructed Yes Bank officers to process the non-genuine proposals,” the agency official said.
Apart from the ED, Anil Ambani group companies are also under the scanner of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and SEBI. Recently, the ED placed alien and froze Rs 77.86 crore in bank accounts of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure, alleging violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The action was linked to the Jaipur–Reengus highway project. Earlier this month, the CBI booked Jai Anmol Ambani over the alleged cheating of Union Bank of India of Rs 228.06 crore.