ED Issues Look-Out Circular Against Anil Ambani in Ongoing Financial Probe: Report
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a lookout circular against businessman Anil Ambani, managing director of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) Group, according to a report by Hindustan Times. The agency is investigating allegations of loan fraud worth thousands of crores by his companies, sources told HT on August 1.
The issuance of a lookout circular, or LOC, means that Ambani can no longer leave India without the permission of courts. As per the HT report, Ambani has also been summoned for questioning under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on August 5.
“We have issued a LOC against Anil Ambani and issued summons to him on August 5 asking him to appear in Delhi for recording his statement under the PMLA in the loan fraud probe,” HT quoted an officer in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as saying. The unnamed source also said that Ambani would likely be asked about various loans based on findings by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), a statutory body under the government of India that regulates securities and the commodity market in the country.
The HT report said that the ED searched the premises of 50 companies and 25 people, including senior executives, associated with the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group companies, last week.
According to officials, the ED is looking into alleged financial irregularities and collective loan diversion amounting to more than Rs. 17,000 crore by multiple companies under the Group including Reliance Infrastructure (R Infra).
According to The New Indian Express, a report by SEBI allegedly disclosed via ED sources accused R‑Infra of moving approximately Rs. 10,000 crore to group companies through an undisclosed private entity named CLE Pvt Ltd – without declaring it as a related party, possibly to avoid approvals from shareholders and audit panels – under the guise of inter‑corporate deposits, equity investments and corporate guarantees.
According to the report, these transactions allegedly span across the financial years of 2013 to 2023, with total exposure to CLE reported at Rs. 8,302 crore by SEBI, and write‑offs reaching Rs 10,110 crore during the financial years (FY) 2017–21.
Reliance ADA Group rejects allegations
The Reliance ADA Group has, however, rejected these allegations, according to the TNIE report.
A spokesperson of the Reliance Group said in a statement that the allegation regarding the diversion of ₹10,000 crore to an undisclosed party was a 10-year-old matter and that the company had stated in its financial statements that its exposure was only around Rs. 6,500 crore, the HT report said.
As per the statement, R Infra had already publicly disclosed this matter on February 9 this year.
“Through mandatory mediation proceedings conducted by a retired Supreme Court judge and the mediation award filed before the Hon’ble Bombay High Court, Reliance Infrastructure arrived at a settlement to recover its 100 per cent exposure of ₹6,500 crore,” HT quoted the statement as saying.
Per the report, the company also claimed that Anil Ambani had not been on the Board of Reliance Infrastructure for more than three years, since March 2022.
The ED is also looking into allegations of illegal loan diversion of approximately Rs. 3,000 crore provided by Yes Bank to companies under the Reliance Group, Reliance Home Finance Limited and Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd, between 2017 and 2019.
According to the HT report, ED officials had stated last week that Yes Bank promoters received money in their accounts just before the loan was granted to these companies.
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