ED probes fake bank guarantee racket tied to Anil Ambani Group; ₹68.2 cr guarantee to SECI found bogus

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said that it has launched a money laundering investigation into a fake bank guarantee racket, which has now been linked to the Anil Ambani Group of Companies.

On August 1, ET reported that Ambani has been summoned the ED for questioning in connection with its ongoing investigation into an alleged ₹17,000-crore loan fraud case.

The latest probe is based on FIR No. 0131/2024 registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Delhi on November 11, 2024.


As part of the investigation, the ED conducted searches under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at multiple locations including three premises in Bhubaneswar connected to M/s Biswal Tradelink Private Limited and its directors; One location in Kolkata belonging to an associate/operator of the group.

The federal agency said that it has uncovered links between the Anil Ambani Group of Companies and a fake bank guarantee worth ₹68.2 crore submitted to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). "⁠In a related matter, evidence seized earlier (during searches on 24.07.2025 in the case of Anil Ambani group companies) has direct linkage with the present investigation."

The bogus guarantee was issued in the name of M/s Reliance NU BESS Limited and M/s Maharashtra Energy Generation Limited, both associated with the Anil Ambani Group, according to the ED.

The agency has found that the bank guarantee was completely fake and was backed by forged communication designed to impersonate the State Bank of India (SBI).

In an effort to pass off the guarantee as genuine, the group allegedly used a spoofed email domain, “s-bi.co.in,” in place of the official “sbi.co.in” to communicate with SECI. The ED has sought domain registration details from the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) to track the origin of this impersonation.

Other findings by ED so far:

• Preliminary investigation shows that the group has also facilitated fake bills for commission.
• Multiple undisclosed bank accounts have been detected, ED said. "Suspicious transactions of crores of Rupees found in these bank accounts."
• According to the ED, the company is a mere paper entity – its registered office is a residential property belonging to a relative. No statutory company records were found at the address.
• Suspicious financial transactions with multiple companies have been traced.
• ⁠Key individuals of the group are found using the Telegram application with “disappearing messages” enabled, indicating attempts to conceal communication.