ED files fresh PMLA case against Anil Ambani, Reliance Communication

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a fresh case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against industrialist Anil Ambani, Reliance Communication (RCom), Mumbai, and others for allegedly causing a loss of over ₹2,929 crore to the SBI.

ED acted on an FIR registered by the CBI last month. On August 21, the CBI filed a case against RCom, its director, Anil Ambani, unknown public servants and others on charges of defrauding the bank and causing wrongful loss of ₹2,929.05 crore.

CBI officials also searched Ambani's residence and RCom premises in connection with the alleged fraud.

"Strongly denying all allegations and charges," a spokesperson for Ambani had then said, adding that the industrialist had been "selectively singled out".

Following the CBI raids on August 21, the spokesperson added, "The search at Anil Ambani's residence concluded early this afternoon. The complaint filed by SBI pertains to matters dating back more than 10 years. At the relevant time, Mr Ambani was a non-executive director of the company, with no involvement in the day-to-day management."

Based on the CBI case, the ED has now registered a money-laundering case against Ambani and his entities. The agency has already filed three separate cases probing alleged involvement of Ambani, his firms and others in bank fraud cases.

In a related development, the ED again questioned Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, a former close aide of Ambani, on Tuesday. Jhunjhunwala has been interrogated earlier by the agency.

ET had reported on August 18 that the ED questioned several senior executives of the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group in connection with a ₹17,000-crore bank loan fraud probe.

As part of its investigation, the ED has written to nearly 20 private and public sector banks seeking details of loans extended to Reliance Group companies, including credit assessments carried out prior to sanctioning.

The ED's fresh case stems from a complaint received on August 18 from Jyoti Kumar, DGM of SBI's Mumbai branch. Kumar alleged the fraud came to light when a forensic auditor submitted its report on October 15, 2020.