ED Seizes ₹1,120 Crore Assets from Anil Ambani Group in Yes Bank Loan Fraud Case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth ₹1,120 crore belonging to the Reliance Anil Ambani Group as part of its ongoing money-laundering probe linked to the Yes Bank–Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL) fraud cases. This latest action brings the total value of assets seized by the ED in these cases to over ₹10,100 crore, highlighting the significant scale of alleged financial irregularities within the group, the central agency announced on Friday.
According to ED officials, the attachment covers 18 immovable assets, including seven properties of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. Notable among these are the Reliance Centre at Ballard Estate in Mumbai, listed as the company’s registered office though no longer serving as its operational headquarters, a commercial office building in Chakala MIDC, Andheri (East), residential properties in Santacruz, and a guest house in the same area. Two properties of Reliance Power Ltd were also attached, along with nine properties belonging to Reliance Value Services Pvt Ltd, notably 231 residential plots in Chennai and seven residential flats in Panvel.
In addition to immovable assets, the ED has provisionally attached financial instruments across five group entities, reflecting the typical money-laundering process where funds are layered through various investment vehicles. Fixed deposits were attached from Reliance Value Services Pvt Ltd, Reliance Venture Asset Management Pvt Ltd, Phi Management Solutions Pvt Ltd, Adhar Property Consultancy Pvt Ltd, and Gamesa Investment Management Pvt Ltd. Investments made in unquoted instruments by Reliance Venture Asset Management Private Ltd and Phi Management Solutions Private Ltd are also included in the latest action.
The ED had earlier attached properties worth over ₹8,997 crore in the bank fraud cases of Reliance Communications Ltd (RCOM), Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd, and Reliance Home Finance Ltd. With the fresh attachment, the total value of assets linked to the Reliance Group under scrutiny now stands at ₹10,117 crore.
During 2017–2019, Yes Bank had invested ₹2,965 crore in RHFL instruments and ₹2,045 crore in RCFL instruments, which turned non-performing by December 2019, leaving an outstanding of ₹1,353.50 crore for RHFL and ₹1,984 crore for RCFL. The ED’s probe revealed that RHFL and RCFL had received over ₹11,000 crore in public funds. Before Yes Bank invested this money in Reliance Anil Ambani Group companies, Yes Bank had received significant sums from the erstwhile Reliance Nippon Mutual Fund. SEBI regulations barred direct investments in or diversion of funds to Anil Ambani Group finance companies due to conflict-of-interest rules. As a result, public money from mutual fund schemes was routed indirectly, flowing through Yes Bank’s exposures before reaching the group companies via a circuitous route.
The ED has also initiated investigations based on an FIR registered by the CBI under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against RCOM, Anil Ambani, and others. The probe revealed that RCOM and its group companies availed loans from domestic and foreign lenders between 2010 and 2012, with a total outstanding amount of ₹40,185 crore. Nine banks have classified these loan accounts as fraudulent. ED investigations found that loans taken by one group entity were used to repay obligations of other entities, transferred to connected parties, and invested in mutual funds, in violation of the terms of the sanction letters. Specifically, over ₹13,600 crore was diverted for loan evergreening, ₹12,600 crore moved to connected parties, and ₹1,800 crore invested in fixed deposits (FD) and mutual funds, which were subsequently liquidated and rerouted within the group. The probe also uncovered significant misuse of bill discounting to channel funds to connected entities, with some loans allegedly siphoned abroad through foreign remittances.
In response to the ED’s provisional attachment of assets worth ₹10,117 crore, Reliance Infrastructure Limited and Reliance Power clarified that a major portion of the attached assets, ₹8,078 crore, pertains to Reliance Communications Limited, which has not been part of the Reliance Group since 2019 and is currently under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP). Reliance Communications is fully managed by the Resolution Professional under the supervision of the NCLT and its Committee of Creditors, and Reliance Infrastructure has no involvement in its affairs. The company further stated that only ₹339 crore, along with seven non-core assets valued at around ₹330 crore, belong to Reliance Infrastructure, while ₹582 crore pertains to independent entities unconnected to the group. Reliance Infrastructure emphasized that its operations continue normally. Acting on legal advice, the company will take all appropriate steps to protect shareholder interests. The company also reiterated that Anil D. Ambani has not been on its Board of Directors for over three and a half years.
Reliance Power, meanwhile, clarified that all real estate assets at Ballard Estate, including company assets valued at ₹397.46 crore, are held on a long-term lease from the Bombay Port Trust (BPT), and its windmill assets of ₹10.14 crore have been provisionally attached. The company said operations are normal, it remains committed to growth, and will take all legal steps to protect shareholder interests, covering over 43 lakh stakeholders.
