Big Crackdown Against Anil Ambani, Mumbai Bungalow Among Attached Assets

A family residence in Mumbai's posh Pali Hill, the Reliance Centre in Delhi and properties in at least eight cities are among the assets the Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached as part of its investigation against the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group.

The assets, valued at approximately Rs 3,084 crore, have been provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act following orders issued on October 31.

The real estate assets attached after this order are spread across Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Hyderabad, Chennai, and East Godavari in Andhra Pradesh. They comprise residential units, office premises, and land parcels.

According to the central agency, attaching the properties is part of an ongoing investigation into the diversion and laundering of public funds raised by Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL). The Enforcement Directorate contends that between 2017 and 2019, Yes Bank invested Rs 2,965 crore in RHFL and Rs 2,045 crore in RCFL through various instruments. By December 2019, these investments turned non-performing, with Rs 1,353.50 crore outstanding for RHFL and Rs 1,984 crore for RCFL.

Investigations found that direct investment by Reliance Nippon Mutual Fund in financial entities of the Anil Ambani-led group was prohibited under SEBI's framework to prevent conflict of interest. But, funds collected from the general public through the mutual fund were allegedly routed indirectly via Yes Bank's exposures to RHFL and RCFL, eventually finding their way into Anil Ambani's companies.

The Enforcement Directorate has said that its fund-tracing exercise has uncovered large-scale diversion and on-lending of funds to group-linked entities, resulting in what it described as "intentional and consistent control failures". Loans were allegedly disbursed without due diligence, often processed on the same day as the application and sanction. In some cases, loans were advanced even before applications were submitted. Security documents were found blank or undated, and several borrowers had negligible business operations, the investigators have found.

The agency has also intensified its probe into Reliance Communications Limited and related companies in connection with a loan fraud case. Preliminary findings indicate diversion of over Rs 13,600 crore through loan evergreening, with Rs 12,600 crore allegedly routed to connected parties and Rs 1,800 crore invested in fixed deposits and mutual funds, later liquidated to benefit group entities. Misuse of bill discounting to funnel funds to connected firms has also been detected, the investigators have said.

The central agency said it will continue tracing the proceeds of crime and securing attached properties, adding that recoveries from these actions are aimed at safeguarding public interest and protecting investors' funds.