New Delhi — Industrialist and Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Delhi on Tuesday for questioning in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to alleged bank loan frauds worth over ₹17,000 crore involving multiple group companies.
Ambani, 66, arrived at the ED’s central Delhi office around 10:50 am in an electric vehicle. His statement is being recorded under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), according to official sources.
The questioning follows a major ED crackdown on July 24, during which the agency conducted searches at 35 premises associated with around 50 companies and 25 individuals, including executives from the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group.
A Look Out Circular (LOC) has been issued against Ambani — a standard move in large-scale fraud cases — to prevent him from leaving the country. Several senior executives from his group have also been summoned for questioning this week.
The probe focuses on alleged loan diversions and financial irregularities by group entities including Reliance Infrastructure (R Infra). The ED suspects that loans, particularly a ₹3,000 crore credit line extended by Yes Bank between 2017 and 2019, were misused and diverted to shell companies and other group entities. It is alleged that bribes were routed to Yes Bank promoters just before these loans were sanctioned.
In a connected development, Partha Sarathi Biswal, MD of an Odisha-based firm, was recently arrested for issuing a fake ₹68 crore bank guarantee for a Reliance Group company. The ED may confront Ambani with Biswal during the investigation.
Further, the agency is probing the alleged misuse of inter-corporate deposits (ICDs) through a company named CLE, suggesting that R Infra failed to disclose CLE as a related party to avoid regulatory checks and shareholder approval.
Reports from the CBI, SEBI, National Financial Reporting Authority, Bank of Baroda, and National Housing Bank have also fed into the ED’s investigation, pointing toward a “well-planned scheme” to siphon public funds by misleading banks, shareholders, and investors.
In its defense, a Reliance Group spokesperson denied wrongdoing, stating that the matter dates back 10 years and had already been disclosed in February 2025. According to the company, R Infra reached a ₹6,500 crore settlement through mediation, with proceedings filed in the Bombay High Court. The group also emphasized that Anil Ambani has not served on R Infra’s board since March 2022.
Meanwhile, the State Bank of India has recently labelled both RCOM and Ambani as “fraudulent” in Parliament and may soon refer the matter to the CBI. A ₹1,050 crore loan fraud involving RCOM and Canara Bank is also under ED scrutiny, alongside alleged undisclosed foreign bank accounts and suspicious investments in AT-1 bonds worth ₹2,850 crore by Reliance Mutual Fund.
The investigation into one of India’s most prominent industrialists is expected to widen, as more executives are questioned and financial documents examined in the coming days.
