Trouble Increased For Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group As Corporate Affairs Ministry Started Investigation
Mumbai : The regulatory net has tightened further around Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group. After ongoing scrutiny by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has initiated a fresh probe into alleged diversion of funds across multiple group companies, including Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Communications, Reliance Commercial Finance and CLE Pvt Ltd.
The case has now been transferred to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) after the MCA’s preliminary findings indicated large-scale siphoning of funds and major violations under the Companies Act. The move comes at a time when ED has stepped up enforcement against the debt-ridden conglomerate. Earlier this week, the agency attached assets worth nearly Rs 7,500 crore belonging to Reliance Group firms.
These attachments are connected to what authorities describe as a multi-crore bank fraud case involving Reliance Infrastructure. The ED’s case centres around loans raised by Reliance Communications (RCOM) and its group companies between 2010 and 2012. As per the agency, the outstanding dues stand at Rs 40,185 crore, with five banks declaring the loan accounts fraudulent. Investigators say funds were diverted across group entities, funnelled to related parties and even used to repay older borrowings in violation of loan conditions.
From around 2010-12 onwards, RCOM and its group companies raised thousands of crores from Indian banks, of which Rs 19,694 crore still remains outstanding. The ED estimates that at least Rs 13,600 crore was diverted through layered transactions, and alleges that a portion of funds moved overseas. Reliance Home Finance, Reliance Commercial Finance, Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Power have all been named in the investigation.
