New Delhi, 28 April (H.S.): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached additional assets worth ₹3,034.90 crore linked to companies belonging to the Reliance Anil Ambani Group (RAAG) in connection with an ongoing money‑laundering probe. The action is part of the central agency’s investigation into the alleged bank‑fraud and misuse‑of‑funds case involving Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM) and related entities.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the ED said it had issued a provisional attachment order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, freezing assets traced back to Reliance Communications and Reliance Infrastructure Limited (R‑Infra), two key companies in the embattled RAAG portfolio. The attached properties include a flat in Mumbai, a farmhouse in the hill station of Khandala (Maharashtra), several land parcels in Sanand near Ahmedabad, and approximately 7.71 crore equity shares of Reliance Infrastructure.
These fresh attachments push the total value of assets attached in all investigations related to the Reliance Anil Ambani Group to over ₹19,344 crore, according to the agency. The ED has described the move as a step to prevent the dissipation of proceeds of crime and to safeguard the interests of banks and public‑sector lenders.
The ED is probing allegations that funds borrowed from banks and financial institutions by RCOM and other group companies were diverted from their stated purposes, contributing to a large‑scale bank‑fraud episode. The enforcement action builds on earlier investigations initiated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which had registered multiple FIRs upon complaints from major lenders, including State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda and Life Insurance Corporation of India.
The special investigation team handling the RAAG‑linked money‑laundering cases has, over the past several years, conducted a series of searches and issued numerous attachment orders against group‑related properties and financial instruments, significantly tightening the group’s ability to monetise or transfer key holdings.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
