In a major crackdown on financial irregularities, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth approximately ₹1,885 crore belonging to companies linked to Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group. The agency announced this development in an official statement released on Wednesday, escalating its ongoing investigations into alleged bank frauds and money laundering.
The attachments stem from probes into the Yes Bank scam involving Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL), as well as banking fraud cases tied to Reliance Communications Limited (RCom). Key assets seized include stakes held by Reliance Infrastructure Limited in BSES Yamuna Power Limited, BSES Rajdhani Power Limited, and Mumbai Metro One Private Limited. Additionally, bank balances of ₹148 crore and receivables worth ₹143 crore under Value Corp Finance and Securities Limited have been frozen.
ED has also targeted properties linked to senior group executives, including a residential flat in the name of Angaraai Seturaman and shares along with mutual fund investments owned by Puneet Garg. This latest action brings the total value of attached assets from the group to nearly ₹12,000 crore, following previous seizures exceeding ₹10,117 crore in related cases.
Investigations reveal a pattern of siphoning public funds across multiple Reliance entities, including RCom, RCFL, RHFL, Reliance Infrastructure, and Reliance Power. Between 2017 and 2019, Yes Bank invested ₹2,965 crore in RHFL and ₹2,045 crore in RCFL, which turned into non-performing assets (NPAs) by December 2019, leaving dues of ₹1,353.50 crore and ₹1,984 crore respectively.
Further scrutiny uncovered that over ₹11,000 crore in public money was funneled into these firms. To bypass SEBI regulations on conflict of interest, funds from Reliance Nippon Mutual Fund were routed through Yes Bank in a circuitous manner. The ED’s probe, initiated based on CBI FIRs, has exposed how loans totaling ₹40,185 crore from domestic and foreign banks remain unpaid, with nine banks classifying them as fraudulent.
Misuse of funds was rampant: loan proceeds were diverted to repay other banks, transferred to related parties, and invested in mutual funds and fixed deposits, violating loan covenants. Over ₹13,600 crore was used to ‘evergreen’ loans, ₹12,600 crore went to associates, and ₹1,800 crore to FDs/mutual funds, which were later redirected within group companies. Bill discounting was abused to channel money abroad and to insiders.
The ED continues its deep dive into these complex financial maneuvers, signaling tougher enforcement against corporate defaulters. This case underscores the risks in India’s banking sector and the resolve to recover public money lost to fraud.
