ED Widens Probe Into Anil Ambani's Companies
Anil Ambani, Reliance Group chairman, is in more trouble legally. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is already questioning him in a case of money laundering. Now, it has served new notices to various banks. The ED requested information regarding loans sanctioned to his companies.
The agency has apparently sent notices to 12–13 banks. These are both public and private sector banks. They had extended huge loans to entities such as Reliance Communications, Reliance Housing Finance, and Reliance Commercial Finance.
Banks Under ED's Radar
The banks that have reportedly been issued notices, according to a report by NDTV, include:
- State Bank of India (SBI)
- Axis Bank
- ICICI Bank
- HDFC Bank
- UCO Bank
- Punjab National Bank
- Sindh Bank
ED also served notices to some bank officers. These officers had sanctioned loans that were subsequently turned into non-performing assets (NPAs). The ED inquired about the process they adopted to sanction these loans.
Parthasarathy Biswal Arrested in Loan Fraud Case
Last week, Parthasarathy Biswal, who is associated with Anil Ambani group, was arrested. He is the Managing Director of Biswal Trade Link Private Limited. He was detained in a ₹3,000 crore loan fraud. The authorities have charged him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He is said to have filed fake guarantee documents valued at ₹68.2 crore on behalf of Reliance Power.
The ED is currently scrutinizing the ₹3,000 crore loan that it took from Yes Bank. The Reliance Group firms are said to have availed this loan between 2017 and 2019.
Anil Ambani Summoned by ED
Major events unfolded last week. The ED called for Anil Ambani to present himself on the 5th of this month. The agency also called for a lookout circular to prevent him from fleeing the country. He has to report himself at the ED headquarters in Delhi. His statement would be recorded under the PMLA.
The ED will soon call other Reliance Group executives for questioning.
Previous Investigations and Fund Transfer Allegations
In previous raids, the ED raided 35 sites related to 50 Reliance Group firms. The raids took place over three days from July 24. Subsequently, the ED called in 25 individuals.
These actions were after a number of companies, including Reliance Infrastructure, made prohibited transactions worth more than ₹17,000 crore. The transactions were raising questions regarding financial malpractices within the group.
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