Companies charged, not Anil Ambani
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Sunday said it has filed chargesheets in two separate money-laundering cases involving companies and former executives of the Reliance Anil Ambani Group (RAAG). Interestingly, the chargesheets avoided the main promoter and kingpin, Anil Ambani, and made his companies and ex-staffers the accused only.
In the first instance, a prosecution complaint was filed on Saturday before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Dwarka against Reliance Infrastructure Limited, former Reliance Group executive Sateesh Seth (70) and others. Seth was arrested by the ED in June and is currently lodged in jail under judicial custody. He left the Reliance Group in 2025.
The second instance pertains to a supplementary chargesheet filed by the federal agency before a special court at Rouse Avenue on Saturday in the case of Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM). The main chargesheet in this case was filed by the ED in March.
RCOM, Reliance Telecom Limited (RTL), former RAAG executives Seth, Gautam Doshi, Amitabh Jhunjhunwala and others have been named as accused in this prosecution complaint filed under the PMLA, the agency said in a statement.
Doshi was arrested by the ED in June and Seth in July, and they are currently in prison under judicial custody. Doshi left the RAAG in 2020. Gautam Doshi, now in his early 80s, was also accused in the 2G scam case.
The chargesheet in the first instance involving Reliance Infrastructure stems from a Mumbai Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW) FIR of February, where it was alleged that shell companies were incorporated and operated using forged documents and bank accounts for routing funds and outward remittances under the cover of fictitious invoices in over-valued diamond exports.
The ED said its probe has found that there was an “organised scheme” to “divert” public funds from four NHAI-awarded toll-road projects — Trichy-Karur (NH-67), Trichy-Dindigul (NH-45), Salem-Ulundurpet (NH-68) and Jaipur-Reengus (NH-11).
“The projects were financed through NHAI grants and loans from banks and financial institutions.
“About Rs.187 crore was siphoned during September-October 2010 through sham, post-facto or back-dated arrangements for fictitious sub-contracting work,” the agency has alleged.
The money trail moved from Reliance Infrastructure or its project-specific special purpose vehicles or EPC contractors to construction contractors and thereafter, to shell entities having “no nexus” with road construction, it has added.
“Documents were subsequently created to portray the transfers as genuine project expenditure, while the funds were layered through shell entities and diamond traders,” the ED has said.
The agency has said it has attached immovable assets and equity shares of Reliance Power Limited, held by Reliance Infrastructure, and land in the name of Ksheeraabd Constructions worth Rs.187 crore.
“Further investigation with respect to the role of other individuals is underway,” it has added.
The supplementary chargesheet stems from multiple CBI FIRs registered on allegations of diversion of fund-based and non-fund-based credit facilities by RCOM, RTL and Reliance Infratel Limited.
The probe has found that “fresh credit facilities were repeatedly used fraudulently to repay, rotate and evergreen earlier domestic and foreign liabilities instead of the sanctioned end-use”.
“Funds were layered through group companies, purpose-built conduit entities, multiple bank accounts and liquid mutual funds; used to service earlier External Commercial Borrowings and Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCB); and projected as legitimate business expenditure or receipts,” the agency has alleged.
It has claimed that loan proceeds were “diverted” to group companies, such as Reliance Infrastructure Limited and Reliance Capital Limited, and they were siphoned off to purchase personal assets for the promoters outside India; and serviced to artificially inflate profits for RCOM.
The proceeds of crime in this case have been quantified at Rs.40,185 crore, and the ED has attached assets worth Rs.8,078 crore. The agency, in the chargesheet, has prayed for the confiscation of these attached assets.
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