NEW DELHI (The Thursday Times) — India’s financial crime agency said on Tuesday it has now frozen or seized assets worth about 231 billion Indian rupees (Rs23,100 crore) in its cases against the Reliance Anil Ambani Group, in a new round that includes two chartered aircraft and two windmills.
The Enforcement Directorate said the figure covers everything attached and seized so far across several cases under India’s money-laundering and foreign exchange laws.
The latest round covers aircraft, bank balances, fixed deposits, property, receivables and investments. In the alleged bank fraud case involving Reliance Communications, where 2.47 billion Indian rupees is under investigation, the agency attached the two aircraft, six parcels of land and an office in Maharashtra.
In the case involving Reliance Home Finance and Reliance Commercial Finance, where 2.63 billion Indian rupees is under investigation, it attached the two windmills in Tamil Nadu, along with bank balances, deposits, investments and receivables.
The agency alleges that public money was siphoned off from banks and financial institutions, that India’s bankruptcy law was misused to shield corporate assets for personal use, and that funds were sent to offshore tax havens. It says much of the money went to the personal benefit of the promoters and their family.
Ten people have been arrested and six prosecution complaints filed so far, the agency said. The other companies under investigation include Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Power and Reliance Capital. The allegations have not been tested in court, and there was no immediate response from the Reliance Group.
Anil Ambani is the younger brother of Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, which is a separate company. The two split their father’s business empire in the 2000s.
