ED Issues Lookout Circular Against Anil Ambani, Imposes Travel Ban
The ED's inquiry is said to revolve around allegations of illegal loan diversion, with a specific focus on a purported Rs 3,000 crore in loans granted by Yes Bank to Ambani's group companies between 2017 and 2019.
- Republic Business
- 2 min read
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a lookout circular against Anil Ambani and also imposed travel restrictions against him. He has already been summoned for questioning on August 5 in connection with an alleged Rs 17,000 crore loan fraud and money laundering case, a development broken exclusively by Republic TV. This action follows a series of extensive raids conducted by the central agency at over 35 locations linked to the Reliance Group chairman's companies across Mumbai and other cities.
The probe, initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is focused on a complex network of financial irregularities and alleged loan diversions. According to official sources, the investigation is based on multiple FIRs filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and reports from other regulatory bodies, including the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
The ED's inquiry is said to revolve around allegations of illegal loan diversion, with a specific focus on a purported Rs 3,000 crore in loans granted by Yes Bank to Ambani's group companies between 2017 and 2019. Investigators have flagged several alleged improprieties, including backdated credit approvals, lack of due diligence, and the diversion of funds to various groups and shell companies.
In a related and equally significant development, the ED is also probing a fake bank guarantee racket. This investigation uncovered a bogus bank guarantee worth ₹68.2 crore that was submitted to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) by a company linked to the Anil Ambani Group. The fake guarantee was allegedly supported by forged communication from a spoofed email domain designed to impersonate the State Bank of India (SBI).
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Responding to the developments, both Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure have issued statements to the stock exchanges, clarifying that Anil Ambani is not currently on their boards. The companies asserted that the ongoing investigation pertains to older transactions of companies like Reliance Communications (RCOM) and Reliance Home Finance Ltd. (RHFL), and that these actions have no bearing on the current governance, management, or operations of Reliance Power or Reliance Infrastructure.