Anil Ambani appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Delhi for questioning in a money laundering probe linked to alleged loan frauds worth over ₹17,000 crore involving multiple Reliance Group companies, including Reliance Infrastructure (R Infra).
The ED is investigating loan diversions, bribe-for-loan nexus, and violations in loan approvals, especially with Yes Bank, where loans were allegedly routed to shell companies without due diligence.
A SEBI report flagged that R Infra diverted funds as inter-corporate deposits through a firm called CLE, without disclosing it as a related party, potentially evading shareholder and audit approvals.
Reliance Group has denied wrongdoing, stating exposure was limited to ₹6,500 crore and a settlement was reached via mediation.
Anil Ambani Appears Before ED in Bank Loan 'Fraud' Linked PMLA Case
He reached the office of the central probe agency in central Delhi around 11 am. The ED will record the statement of the 66-year-old businessman under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act
Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani on Tuesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate here for questioning in a money laundering case linked to alleged multiple bank loan fraud cases worth crores of rupees against his group companies, official sources said.
He reached the office of the central probe agency in central Delhi around 11 am.
The ED will record the statement of the 66-year-old businessman under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The summons come after the agency conducted searches at 35 premises of 50 companies and 25 people, including executives of his business group, in Mumbai on July 24.
The action pertains to alleged financial irregularities and collective loan "diversion" pegged at more than ₹17,000 crore by multiple group companies of Anil Ambani, including Reliance Infrastructure (R Infra).
The first allegation pertains to "illegal" loan diversion of around ₹3,000 crore, given by the Yes Bank to the group companies of Ambani between 2017 and 2019.
The ED suspects, the sources said, that just before the loan was granted, Yes Bank promoters "received" money in their companies.
The agency is investigating this nexus of "bribe" and the loan.
The sources said the ED is also probing allegations of "gross violations" in Yes Bank loan approvals to these companies, including charges such as back-dated credit approval memorandums and investments proposed without any due diligence/credit analysis in violation of the bank's credit policy.
The loans are alleged to have been "diverted" to many group companies and "shell" (bogus) companies by the entities involved.
The agency is also looking at some instances of loans given to entities with weak financials, a lack of proper documentation of loans and due diligence, borrowers having common addresses and common directors in their companies, etc., according to the sources. The money laundering case stems from at least two CBI FIRs and reports shared by National Housing Bank, SEBI, National Financial Reporting Authority and Bank of Baroda with the ED, they had said.
These reports, the sources said, indicate there was a "well-planned and thought after scheme" to divert or siphon off public money by cheating banks, shareholders, investors and other public institutions.
The other allegation being probed by the ED, on the basis of a SEBI report, is that R Infra "diverted" funds disguised as inter-corporate deposits (ICDs) to Reliance Group companies through a company named CLE. It is alleged that R Infra did not disclose CLE as its "related party" to avoid approvals from shareholders and audit panels.
A Reliance Group spokesperson had denied any wrongdoing and said in a statement that the allegation regarding alleged diversion of ₹10,000 crore to an undisclosed party was a 10-year-old matter and the company had stated in its financial statements that its exposure was only around ₹6,500 crore.
Reliance Infrastructure had publicly disclosed this matter on February 9, 2025, nearly six months ago, the statement said. "Through mandatory mediation proceedings conducted by a retired Supreme Court judge and the mediation award filed before the Hon'ble Bombay High Court, Reliance Infrastructure arrived at a settlement to recover its 100 per cent exposure of ₹6,500 crore," it said.
The company added that Ambani was not on the board of R Infra since more than three years (March 2022).
The Union government had informed Parliament recently that the State Bank of India has classified RCOM along with Ambani as "fraud" and was also in the process of lodging a complaint with the CBI.
A bank loan "fraud" of more than ₹1,050 crore between RCOM and Canara Bank is also under the ED scanner, apart from some "undisclosed" foreign bank accounts and assets, the sources said.
Reliance Mutual Fund is also stated to have invested ₹2,850 crore in AT-1 bonds, and a "quid pro quo" is suspected here by the agency.
Additional Tier 1 (AT-1) are perpetual bonds issued by banks to increase their capital base, and they are riskier than traditional bonds, having higher interest rates.