ED raids in Rs 3,000-crore bank loan 'fraud' against Anil Ambani group companies

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted raids at multiple locations as part of an alleged Rs 3,000 crore worth bank loan fraud-linked money laundering case against the companies of Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani, official sources said.

Some more bank loans taken by these companies apart from certain alleged undisclosed foreign assets are under the scanner of the agency.

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More than 35 premises in Mumbai belonging to 50 companies and 25 people were searched under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Some documents and computer peripherals have been recovered, they said.

The investigation is being carried out by a Delhi-based investigation unit of the ED.

ED sources said they are primarily probing allegations of illegal loan diversion of around Rs 3,000 crore, given by the Yes Bank to the group companies of Ambani between 2017-2019.

Two group companies, Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure, said in separate but identical regulatory filings that the ED action has had "absolutely no impact" on their business operations, financial performance, shareholders, employees, or any other stakeholders.

"The media reports appear to pertain to allegations concerning transactions of Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM) or Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL) which are over 10 years old," the companies said.

The ED, the sources said, has found that just before the loan was granted, Yes Bank promoters "received" money in their concerns.

The federal probe agency is investigating this nexus of "bribe" and the loan.

Sources said the ED is also probing allegations of "gross violations" in Yes Bank loan approvals to these companies including charges like back-dated credit approval memorandums, investments proposed without any due diligence/credit analysis in violation of banks credit policy, the sources said.

The loans are alleged to have been "diverted" to many group companies and "shell" (bogus) companies by the entities involved.

The agency is also looking at some instances of loans given to entities with weak financials, lack of proper documentation of loans and due diligence, borrowers having common addresses and common directors in their companies etc., the sources said.

The money laundering case stems from at least two CBI FIRs and reports shared by the National Housing Bank, SEBI, National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) and Bank of Baroda with the ED, they said.

These reports indicate, the sources said, that there was a "well-planned and thought after scheme" to divert or siphon off public money by cheating banks, shareholders, investors and other public institutions.

The Union government had informed the Parliament recently that the State Bank of India has classified RCOM along with Ambani as 'fraud' and was also in the process of lodging a complaint with the CBI.

A bank loan "fraud" of more than Rs 1,050 crore between RCOM and Canara Bank is also under the scanner of the ED apart from some "undisclosed" foreign bank accounts and assets, the sources said.

Reliance Mutual fund is also stated to have invested Rs 2,850 crore in AT-1 bonds and a "quid pro quo" is suspected here by the agency.

Additional Tier 1 (AT-1) are perpetual bonds issued by banks to increase their capital base and they are riskier than traditional bonds having higher interest rates. An alleged loan fund diversion of about Rs 10,000 crore involving Reliance Infrastructure too is under the scanner of the agency.

A SEBI report on RHFL is also part of the ED probe.

According to the market regulator's findings, an increase in corporate loans by RHFL was seen, from Rs 3,742.60 crore in FY 2017-18 to Rs 8,670.80 crore in FY 2018-19.

The companies also said in their filings before the stock exchanges that Anil Ambani was not on the Board of either Reliance Power or Reliance Infrastructure and that they had no "business or financial linkage" to RCOM or RHFL.

Any action taken against RCOM or RHFL, the companies said, has no bearing or impact on the governance, management, or operations of either Reliance Power or Reliance Infrastructure.

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