The Indian Financial Crimes Bureau has taken a big step forward in its investigation into companies with ties to the Anil Ambani led Reliance Group. New assets worth more than ₹581 crore have been taken over by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as part of an investigation into money laundering involving group companies.
The most recent action concerns investigations into Reliance Home Finance Limited and Reliance Commercial Finance Limited. Officials say the move is part of a larger effort to find and seize assets linked to alleged financial crimes.
Properties worth more than ₹581 crore have been attached by the ED
As a result of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the ED said that assets worth ₹581.65 crore have been temporarily taken back. On March 11, the attachment order was sent out.
The agency says that the attached assets include pieces of land in several Indian states. These homes are located in Goa, Kerala, Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
The move was made as part of an ongoing investigation into Reliance Home Finance Limited and Reliance Commercial Finance Limited, according to officials. These businesses are linked to the Reliance Group, which is run by Anil Ambani.
The ED said the attachment came after searches were done on March 6 in a case related to this one involving Reliance Power Limited. Under the rules of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, those searches were done.
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Attachments in the Reliance Group case add up to over ₹16 billion
A lot of things connected to the Reliance Group have been linked to the investigation before. As part of the investigation, the ED said that several properties linked to the group had already been taken.
As of the most recent action, assets linked to the Reliance Anil Ambani Group are now worth a total of ₹16,310 crore.
The agency said the new attachment was part of its ongoing effort to seize assets that might be connected to the alleged financial misconduct that is being looked into.
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Bank complaints led to the investigation
The investigation began after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) opened a case. The case was based on complaints from several banks.
Yes Bank, Union Bank of India, and Bank of Maharashtra are some of these banks.
The investigation says that Reliance Commercial Finance Limited and Reliance Home Finance Limited got money from a number of banks and other financial institutions. A lot of these loans later turned into assets that aren’t being paid back.
Police say that more than ₹11,00,000 crore of the money the companies raised turned into stressed loans that were not paid back.
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There are claims that money was stolen through shell companies
The ED investigation also looked into what was done with the borrowed money after it was taken out from banks and other institutions.
The agency says that the money that Reliance Home Finance Limited and Reliance Commercial Finance Limited collected was sent to other Reliance Group companies.
Reliance Infrastructure Limited, Reliance Power Limited, Reliance Communications Limited, and Reliance Capital Limited are said to be some of these companies.
Officials say the money went through a lot of fake companies that were supposedly run and controlled by the Reliance Anil Ambani Group. Researchers said that a lot of these groups didn’t have much money and didn’t do any important business activities.
The ED said that its investigation had shown that the transactions made by the group’s leaders and key people involved in the operations may have been done on purpose.
As part of its ongoing investigation into money laundering, the agency is still following the money trail and looking for assets that are linked to the alleged theft of money.
