New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting massive search operations across Delhi and Mumbai at properties linked to Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani, in connection with a major money laundering investigation. The crackdown follows two FIRs registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), alleging extensive financial irregularities involving several Reliance Group entities.
According to sources, the ED has launched a large-scale operation covering around 35 locations, probing over 50 companies and questioning more than 25 individuals. Preliminary findings point to a “well-planned and systematic scheme” to siphon off public funds by allegedly cheating banks, investors, shareholders, and other financial institutions.
Central to the probe are allegations involving Yes Bank, where between 2017 and 2019, loans worth approximately ₹3,000 crore were disbursed to RAAGA companies, part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG). The ED claims to have unearthed an illicit quid pro quo arrangement in which Yes Bank promoters allegedly received payments in private firms shortly before sanctioning the loans.
The investigation has highlighted multiple red flags — including loans to companies with dubious or unverified financials, use of common directors and addresses across several borrowing entities, missing documentation in sanction files, and loan evergreening practices, where new loans were issued to repay old ones. Funds were allegedly routed through shell companies, further deepening suspicion of wrongdoing.
Senior executives and promoters of Yes Bank are also under the scanner, with ED suspecting bribes and personal benefits were received in return for approving large, unsecured loans to select ADAG companies.
Various regulatory agencies have also flagged concerns. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) submitted a detailed report to the ED outlining serious irregularities in Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL). The report notes that RHFL’s corporate loan book nearly doubled from ₹3,742 crore in FY 2017-18 to ₹8,670 crore in FY 2018-19, raising significant concerns about the legitimacy of the lending practices.
In a separate development, the State Bank of India (SBI) has classified both Reliance Communications (RCom) and Anil Ambani himself as fraud accounts. While SBI had originally declared the accounts fraudulent in November 2020 and filed a complaint with the CBI in January 2021, the Delhi High Court issued a status quo order on January 6, which led to the withdrawal of the complaint at the time.
Now, with multiple regulatory bodies including NHB, SEBI, NFRA, and Bank of Baroda cooperating in the probe, the ED is intensifying its investigation, signalling potential legal action ahead against those involved in what could become one of India’s largest financial scandals in recent times.
