ED attaches assets worth over Rs 3K crore in money laundering case against Anil Ambani
New Delhi (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth more than Rs 3,000 crore linked to Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani as part of a money laundering investigation against his group companies, official sources said on Monday.
The federal probe agency has issued four provisional orders under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for attaching the properties, including the 66-year-old Ambani's house in Pali Hill, Mumbai, apart from other residential and commercial properties of his group companies, they said.
A plot of land belonging to Reliance Centre on Maharaja Ranjit Singh Marg in Delhi and multiple other assets in the national capital, Noida, Ghaziabad, Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Hyderabad, Chennai and East Godavari have also been attached.
According to the sources, the total value of the attached assets is Rs 3,084 crore.
The case pertains to alleged diversion and laundering of public funds raised by Reliance Home Finance Ltd. (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd. (RCFL).
During 2017-2019, Yes Bank invested Rs 2,965 crore in RHFL instruments and Rs 2,045 crore in RCFL instruments.
These turned into "non-performing" investments by December 2019, with Rs 1,353.50 crore then outstanding for RHFL and Rs 1,984 crore for RCFL, according to the ED.
The action against Ambani pertains to alleged financial irregularities and collective loan "diversion" pegged at more than Rs 17,000 crore by multiple group companies, including Reliance Infrastructure.
The businessman was questioned in the case by the ED in August.
This came after the agency searched 35 premises of 50 companies and 25 people, including executives of his business group, in Mumbai on July 24.
The ED's money laundering case stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation FIR.
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Goa nightclub fire: Owners Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra fled to Phuket after tragedy, say police
Panaji (PTI): Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, the main accused and owners of the Goa nightclub where a massive blaze claimed 25 lives, fled to Phuket hours after the tragedy, Goa Police said on Monday.
"Goa Police have taken further steps to coordinate with the Interpol Division of the CBI to apprehend both Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra at the earliest," a senior police officer said.
A massive fire at the nightclub, some 25 kilometres away from Panaji, on late Saturday night killed 25 persons. The deceased comprised 20 employees of the nightclub and five tourists, including four from Delhi. Five injured people were undergoing treatment at the government-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).
After registering an FIR against them, a Look Out Circular was issued against them by December 7 by the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) at the request of the Goa Police.
The Bureau of Immigration at Mumbai was contacted, and it was found that both the accused had taken the 6E 1073 flight to Phuket at 5.30 am on December 7, immediately after the fire incident, which occurred around midnight, the officer said.
READ ALSO: Goa nightclub fire: Owner Saurabh Luthra expresses grief, assures management support
He said the Goa Police had immediately dispatched a team to Delhi to conduct raids on the addresses of the accused Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra.
"Since they were not available, a notice under the appropriate sections of law was pasted on the gate of their house. This shows their intent to avoid the police investigation", he said.
Goa Police have obtained transit remand of Bharat Kohli, an employee of the club, and are bringing him to Goa.
He also said that the postmortem on all 25 deceased has been completed and bodies handed over to their families.
