ED Makes First Arrest in ₹3,000-Cr Loan Fraud Linked to Anil Ambani-Led Reliance Group

India's anti-money laundering agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), reportedly made its first arrest on Saturday in connection with the ₹3,000-crore loan fraud involving companies from Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group.

According to NDTV, the ED has taken into custody Partha Sarathi Biswal, the managing director of Biswal Tradelink Pvt Ltd, accused of providing fake guarantees worth ₹68.2 crore on behalf of Reliance Power. Biswal was arrested on Friday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The case originated from a complaint filed by the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police, alleging that Biswal Tradelink, incorporated in 2019, and its directors submitted forged bank guarantees of ₹68.2 crore to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). Investigations revealed that the documents were backed by falsified records and counterfeit email confirmations, sent through a spoofed domain “s-bi.co.in” designed to resemble the official SBI domain “sbi.co.in.”

According to the ED, Reliance Power paid Biswal Tradelink ₹5.4 crore for arranging the fraudulent guarantees. The firm was also found to be operating at least seven undisclosed bank accounts, failing to maintain proper documentation, and using proxy directors to endorse paperwork.

Biswal was presented before a special court, which remanded him to ED custody until Wednesday. His arrest follows a lookout notice issued against Anil Ambani in connection with the same case.

The probe is focused on the alleged diversion of loans totaling about ₹3,000 crore, which Reliance Group companies received from YES Bank between 2017 and 2019. The ED’s investigation has indicated that the bank’s promoters received payments shortly before the loans were cleared. On July 24, the ED launched search operations at more than 50 locations related to the case, continuing them for three days under the PMLA framework.

Later, Reliance Power clarified in an exchange filing, stating, "The action by ED has no impact on the business operations, financial performance, shareholders, employees, or any other stakeholders of the company. This appears to pertain to allegations concerning transactions of Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM) or Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL), which are over 10 years old."

It added that Reliance Power is a separate and independent listed entity with no business or financial links to RCOM or RHFL. RCOM has been undergoing Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, for over six years. The company also emphasized that Anil D. Ambani is not on Reliance Power's board, and any action taken against RCOM or RHFL has no impact on the governance, management, or operations of Reliance Power.

As per the report, the ED has summoned Ambani for questioning on August 5.