ED makes 3rd arrest in Reliance Power 'fake' bank guarantee linked PMLA case
New Delhi (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate has made a fresh and the third arrest in connection with a money laundering probe against businessman Anil Ambani's group company Reliance Power linked to issuance of an alleged fake bank guarantee of Rs 68 crore, official sources said on Friday.
A person identified as Amar Nath Dutta was taken into custody on Thursday under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). A special court sent him to four days of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody, they said.
The federal probe agency has arrested former Reliance Power CFO Ashok Kumar Pal and a private person Partha Sarathi Biswal, MD of an Odisha-based company named Biswal Tradelink, as part of this investigation.
The case pertains to a bank guarantee of Rs 68.2 crore submitted to the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) on behalf of Reliance NU BESS Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Power, a listed company, which was found to be "fake". The company was formerly known as Maharashtra Energy Generation Limited.
Biswal Tradelink, the ED had alleged, operated a racket for providing "fake" bank guarantees for business groups.
The Reliance Group had earlier said Anil Ambani was "not on the Board of Reliance Power Limited for more than 3.5 years and is not concerned with this matter in any manner."
The money laundering case stems from a November 2024 FIR of Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW). It was alleged that the Biswal Tradelink was engaged in issuing "fake" bank guarantees against a commission of 8 per cent.
Probe found that Reliance NU BESS Ltd. submitted a bank guarantee from the FirstRand Bank located in Manila, Philippines, but the said bank does not have a branch in that country, as per the ED.
Reliance Power had said earlier that it had been a "victim of fraud, forgery and cheating conspiracy" in this case and it had made due disclosures in this context to the stock exchange on November 7, 2024.
A group spokesperson had said a criminal complaint was lodged by them against the third party (accused company) with Delhi Police's EOW in October 2024 and the "due process" of law would follow.
The ED sources had said that the Bhubaneswar-based company (Biswal Tradelink) was using an email domain -- s-bi.co.in -- similar to sbi.co.in to create a "facade" of genuineness that the communication was being sent by the State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender.
The fake domain was used to send "forged" communication to the SECI, they said. Biswal Tradelink, according to the ED, was a "mere paper entity" as its registered office was a residential property belonging to a relative of Biswal.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
