Anil Ambani faces Look Out Circular in ED’s Rs 17,000-crore loan fraud probe

A Look Out Circular (LoC) was issued against Anil Ambani, chairman of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), on Friday on the request of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The move comes amid an ongoing investigation by the ED into an alleged Rs 17,000-crore loan fraud case. ET had reported earlier in the day that the central probe agency has summoned the industrialist for questioning in relation to the matter on August 5.

ED last week carried out searches at multiple entities and individuals linked to Anil Ambani's Reliance Group across 35 locations in Mumbai, covering 50 companies and 25 individuals under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).


The current investigation is based on FIR No. 0131/2024, filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police on November 11, 2024.

Fake bank guarantee uncovered in SECI fraud

According to the ED, the investigation has unearthed links between Anil Ambani Group companies and a fake bank guarantee of Rs 68.2 crore submitted to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). The bogus guarantee was allegedly issued in the names of M/s Reliance NU BESS Limited and M/s Maharashtra Energy Generation Limited—both affiliated with the ADAG group.

The agency found that the guarantee was completely fabricated and supported by forged communications meant to impersonate the State Bank of India (SBI). Notably, the group reportedly used a spoofed email domain, “s-bi.co.in,” closely mimicking the official SBI domain “sbi.co.in,” in communications with SECI to present the forged guarantee as genuine.

The ED has sought domain registration records from the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) to trace the origin and digital footprint of the fraudulent email activity.