CHENNAI: The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 1,885 crore in connection with its ongoing investigations into alleged bank fraud and money-laundering involving companies linked to the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. The action forms part of a wider probe into suspected diversion and misuse of public funds raised by group entities, particularly Reliance Home Finance Limited and Reliance Commercial Finance Limited, which later resulted in large unpaid exposures for lending institutions.
According to officials familiar with the investigation, the attached assets include bank balances, receivables, shareholdings in unlisted companies and immovable properties that are believed to represent proceeds of crime or assets acquired using tainted funds. Some of the properties and financial instruments are held in the names of group companies as well as certain individuals associated with them. The attachments have been carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act with the objective of preventing dissipation or transfer of assets while the investigation is underway, said reports.
The agency has alleged that substantial sums were raised through loans and structured financial instruments and were subsequently diverted from their stated purpose. Investigators claim that instead of being deployed for the businesses for which the funds were sanctioned, portions of the money were routed through a web of transactions to related parties and group entities, and in some cases used to service other group liabilities. These practices are alleged to have violated lending norms and resulted in significant losses to banks and financial institutions.
With the latest action, the total value of assets attached across various cases linked to the Reliance group has climbed to around Rs 12,000 crore. The Enforcement Directorate has been examining multiple transactions spanning several years, including large investments by a private sector bank in debt instruments of group finance companies that later turned into non-performing assets. Parallel investigations by other agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation, are also underway into allegations of cheating, criminal conspiracy and breach of trust.
Media reports said quoting ED officials that the investigation is continuing and further attachments or legal action may follow based on the evidence gathered. The cases are among the largest financial crime probes involving a corporate group in recent years and underline the government’s stated intent to pursue recovery of assets and hold those responsible accountable for alleged large-scale banking and financial irregularities.