Enforcement Directorate Cracks Down on Reliance ADAG in Money Laundering Racket

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a lookout circular against Reliance ADAG chief Anil Ambani, summoning him for questioning in connection with an alleged money laundering racket involving group entities. On Friday, the ED searched three premises in Bhubaneswar and one in Kolkata, finding evidence of a Rs 68-crore fake bank guarantee provided to Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited. Reliance ADAG has denied any wrongdoing, stating that the company and its subsidiaries acted in good faith and were victims of a fraud conspiracy.

Key Takeaways:

• The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a lookout circular against Reliance ADAG chief Anil Ambani, summoning him for questioning on August 5.
• The ED searched three premises in Bhubaneswar and one in Kolkata, finding evidence of a Rs 68-crore fake bank guarantee provided to Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited.
• The guarantee was generated by a shell entity registered in Bhubaneswar, allegedly linked to ADAG, and was used to secure a bank guarantee of Rs 68.2 crore submitted to Solar Energy Corporation of India.
• Reliance ADAG has denied any wrongdoing, stating that the company and its subsidiaries acted in good faith and were victims of a fraud conspiracy.
• Multiple undisclosed bank accounts have been detected with suspicious transactions of several crores of rupees, and key individuals of the group have been found using Telegram app with "disappearing messages" enabled.
• The ED has registered a separate money laundering investigation based on an FIR registered by the economic offences wing of Delhi Police in November 2024.
• Searches took place in Bhubaneswar at three premises of Biswal Tradelink and its directors and one premise of an associated operator.

Statistics:

• Rs 68 crore: the amount of fake bank guarantees provided to Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited.
• Rs 68.2 crore: the amount of bank guarantee submitted to Solar Energy Corporation of India, which has been established as fake.
• 3 premises in Bhubaneswar and 1 premise in Kolkata: the locations where ED searches took place.
• 15 August 2024: the date on which ED summoned Anil Ambani for questioning.

Sources:

• Enforcement Directorate (ED)
• Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited
• Reliance ADAG
• Economic Offences Wing, Delhi Police
• National Internet Exchange of India