ED has summoned Anil Ambani for questioning in Rs.17000 crore Loan fraud case

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has summoned Anil Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Group, for questioning in connection with a ₹17,000 crore loan fraud case.

He has been asked to appear at the ED headquarters in Delhi on August 5. This move comes after the ED conducted extensive searches last week at 35 locations in Mumbai, targeting entities and individuals linked to Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group. Earlier ED conducted raids at over 50 sites linked to Anil Ambani in Rs 3,000 crore Yes Bank loan fraud.

The searches covered 50 companies and 25 individuals under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

In a parallel development, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) submitted its investigation report to the ED, the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).

SEBI’s report alleges that Reliance Infrastructure (R Infra), a company under the Reliance Group, diverted around ₹10,000 crore disguised as inter-corporate deposits (ICDs) through a company called CLE Pvt. Ltd., which was not disclosed as a related party.

This allowed Reliance Infrastructure to bypass legal requirements such as shareholder approval and proper disclosure in financial statements.

SEBI claims that CLE was, in fact, closely linked to Reliance—its directors were Reliance employees, it used Reliance email domains, and it even identified Reliance Infra as its promoter in documents submitted to Yes Bank.

A person close to Reliance Group disputed SEBI’s claims, stating that the matter had already been disclosed publicly by Reliance Infrastructure on February 9 and that SEBI did not uncover anything new.

The person also argued that the actual financial exposure was ₹6,500 crore, not ₹10,000 crore, and that the exaggerated figure was meant to sensationalize the issue.

They added that Reliance Infra had taken steps to recover the amount through a court-mediated settlement process, led by a retired Supreme Court judge and currently under review in the Bombay High Court.

SEBI, however, has alleged that from FY13 to FY23, a large portion—between 25% and 90%—of Reliance Infra’s annual expenditures were tied to CLE.

The company continued to provide advances to CLE despite knowing it couldn’t repay them and even after making provisions for doubtful debts. Between FY17 and FY21 alone, Reliance Infra wrote off ₹10,110 crore due to fair value adjustments and impairments.

SEBI concluded that Reliance Infra deliberately avoided disclosing CLE as a related party, thereby evading mandatory approvals and misrepresenting its financial position.

Anil Ambani, who held over 40% shareholding in R Infra companies until March 2019 and served as non-executive chairman until March 2022, is believed to have had significant control and influence during the period of the alleged financial irregularities.

Recently, SBI Labelled Reliance Communications and Anil Ambani as ‘Fraud’. The State Bank of India (SBI) has officially declared Reliance Communications (RCom) and its promoter director Anil D. Ambani as ‘fraudulent entities’. The government shared this information in Parliament on Monday, confirming that the bank is also preparing to file a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Recently, Canara Bank has Withdrawn ‘Fraud’ Tag from Anil Ambani’s Loan Account and has informed the same to Bombay High Court.