New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has expanded its money-laundering probe against Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani’s companies, registering a fresh case against Reliance Communications Limited (RCom) over an alleged ₹2,929 crore loan fraud with the State Bank of India (SBI), official sources said.
An Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) — the ED’s equivalent of an FIR — has been filed after taking cognisance of a CBI complaint lodged on August 21. Soon after, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) carried out searches at RCom offices and Ambani’s Mumbai residence on August 23.
The accused in the ED case mirror those named in the CBI FIR, including RCom-Mumbai, its director Anil D Ambani, unidentified public servants, and others, based on SBI’s complaint. The ED is now examining all aspects of the alleged fraud involving Ambani’s group companies and possible interlinkages among them.
As per SBI’s complaint, attached to the CBI FIR, RCom had outstanding dues of over ₹40,000 crore to multiple lenders, with SBI alone facing losses of ₹2,929 crore (2018 figures).
After the CBI’s action, a spokesperson for Ambani stated that the matter pertained to transactions more than a decade old, during which Ambani served only as a non-executive director with no role in daily operations. The statement also pointed out that SBI had already withdrawn proceedings against five other non-executive directors, alleging that Ambani was being “selectively singled out.”
In July, the ED conducted searches targeting current and former executives of Ambani’s group firms. The agency also questioned and recorded the statement of the 66-year-old businessman in early August.
The ED’s broader investigation concerns alleged financial irregularities and diversion of loans exceeding ₹17,000 crore across multiple Ambani group companies, including Reliance Infrastructure (R Infra). This also covers allegations of “illegal” diversion of nearly ₹3,000 crore in loans extended by Yes Bank to Ambani’s companies between 2017 and 2019.
According to sources, several present and former executives of the group have already been examined, and more, including Ambani himself, may be summoned for questioning.
