Business tycoon Anil Ambani, chairman of the Reliance Group, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday in connection with a case involving alleged bank loan fraud counti upto thousands of crores.
Mr. Ambani walked into the ED office around 11 a.m. to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. During the session, officials questioned him about several financial transactions linked to loans given to his group companies. Sources said he has asked for a week’s time to provide additional documents and answers.
This development comes after the ED conducted raids in the last week of July across 35 locations connected to 50 companies and 25 individuals. The investigation is based on reports filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), along with inputs from other financial agencies, including SEBI, the National Housing Bank, and the Bank of Baroda.
In response, Reliance Infrastructure, one of the key companies involved, said the issue being investigated is over a decade old. “We disclosed the matter publicly back in February 2025. Our exposure was around ₹6,500 crore, which we’ve reported consistently over the past four years,” the company said in a statement.
They also explained that the company had taken steps to recover the money, including going through court-led mediation, which led to a settlement for the full amount. The outcome of the mediation was submitted to the Bombay High Court. Notably, the company clarified that Anil Ambani has not been on its board since March 2022.
What’s raising eyebrows in the ED’s investigation are the loans given by Yes Bank to Reliance group companies between 2017 and 2019. According to agency sources, some approval documents were backdated, and loans were cleared without proper checks. The ED is also looking into allegations of bribes paid to bank officials.
One figure under scrutiny is a spike in corporate loans taken by Reliance Home Finance Limited, from about ₹3,742 crore to ₹8,670 crore in just one year.
The investigation is still unfolding as authorities dig deeper into where the money went, and who knew what and when.
