Reliance Group Executives Grilled in ₹17,000 Crore Loan Fraud Case

Several senior executives of the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group have been questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a ₹17,000 crore bank loan fraud case. This follows the anti-money laundering agency’s interrogation of Anil Ambani and his close aides.

According to the Economic Times (ET), those questioned include Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, former Chief Financial Officer of Reliance Group, and Sateesh Seth, who served as Group Managing Director.

The questioning reportedly revealed that Reliance Home Finance Limited and Reliance Commercial Finance Limited were allegedly used to divert loans received from banks to Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Power. The ED is said to have uncovered alleged money laundering through these two latter entities.

The agency has also written to nearly 20 private and public sector banks, seeking details of loans extended to Reliance Group companies. Among the information requested are the credit assessments carried out by the banks before sanctioning the loans.

The ED is investigating alleged financial irregularities and loan diversions exceeding ₹17,000 crore across multiple Reliance Group companies. A key allegation concerns the diversion of around ₹3,000 crore in loans issued by Yes Bank to Ambani group firms between 2017 and 2019.

Investigators suspect that Yes Bank promoters may have received funds in their own entities shortly before sanctioning these loans, suggesting a possible quid pro quo arrangement.

The probe is also examining potential violations in Yes Bank’s loan approval process, including the use of back-dated credit approval notes, inadequate due diligence, and investments sanctioned without proper credit assessments, in breach of the bank’s credit policy. The investigation is based on two CBI FIRs and reports submitted to the ED by the National Housing Bank, SEBI, the National Financial Reporting Authority, and Bank of Baroda.

Anil Ambani was questioned by the ED in New Delhi on 5 August for nearly eight hours. According to ET, Ambani told the agency that senior company executives were aware of the details of the loans procured from banks. The following day, Jhunjhunwala and Seth were also interrogated.

Ambani is expected to be questioned again after the agency analyses statements from senior executives, along with documents and digital records.