MUMBAI: In a major escalation of its crackdown on financial irregularities, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted sweeping raids on Friday across multiple locations linked to industrialist Anil Ambani and Reliance Power. Sources within the agency revealed that around 10-12 premises in Mumbai were simultaneously searched by approximately 15 specialized teams.
The operations targeted registered offices and residences of individuals and entities associated with the power giant. This action forms part of an ongoing investigation into alleged suspicious fund transfers and questionable financial transactions involving Reliance Power. While no official statement has been issued by the ED yet, the raids underscore the agency’s relentless pursuit of money laundering trails in high-profile corporate cases.
This development comes on the heels of previous actions against Anil Ambani. Earlier, the ED had attached his luxurious Pali Hill bungalow named ‘Abode,’ valued at approximately ₹3,716.83 crore, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. This was linked to a bank fraud case involving Reliance Communications Limited (RCom). A portion of the same property, worth ₹473.17 crore, had already been seized previously.
Just last month, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also raided Ambani’s residences and RCom offices following a complaint from Bank of Baroda. The FIR accuses Ambani, the promoter and former chairman of RCom, and others of criminal conspiracy and cheating under the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act. The fraud allegedly caused Bank of Baroda losses exceeding ₹2,220 crore through diversion of loans via sham transactions to related parties and manipulation of company accounts to conceal irregularities.
Documents seized during CBI searches have shed light on these loan transactions. As regulatory scrutiny intensifies on the Ambani-led empire, questions loom over the future of Reliance Power and its associated ventures. Investors and stakeholders await clarity, while the raids signal deeper probes into corporate governance lapses in India’s power sector.