Anil Ambani appears before ED in bank loan 'fraud' linked PMLA case
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New Delhi (PTI): Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani on Tuesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate here for questioning in a money laundering case linked to alleged multiple bank loan fraud cases worth crores of rupees against his group companies, official sources said.
He reached the office of the central probe agency in central Delhi around 11 am.
The ED will record the statement of the 66-year-old businessman under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The summons come after the agency conducted searches at 35 premises of 50 companies and 25 people, including executives of his business group, in Mumbai on July 24.
The action pertains to alleged financial irregularities and collective loan "diversion" pegged at more than Rs 17,000 crore by multiple group companies of Anil Ambani, including Reliance Infrastructure (R Infra).
The first allegation pertains to "illegal" loan diversion of around Rs 3,000 crore, given by the Yes Bank to the group companies of Ambani between 2017 and 2019.
The ED suspects, the sources said, that just before the loan was granted, Yes Bank promoters "received" money in their companies.
The agency is investigating this nexus of "bribe" and the loan.
The sources said the ED is also probing allegations of "gross violations" in Yes Bank loan approvals to these companies, including charges such as back-dated credit approval memorandums and investments proposed without any due diligence/credit analysis in violation of the bank's credit policy.
The loans are alleged to have been "diverted" to many group companies and "shell" (bogus) companies by the entities involved.
The agency is also looking at some instances of loans given to entities with weak financials, a lack of proper documentation of loans and due diligence, borrowers having common addresses and common directors in their companies, etc., according to the sources.
The money laundering case stems from at least two CBI FIRs and reports shared by National Housing Bank, SEBI, National Financial Reporting Authority and Bank of Baroda with the ED, they had said.
These reports, the sources said, indicate there was a "well-planned and thought after scheme" to divert or siphon off public money by cheating banks, shareholders, investors and other public institutions.
The other allegation being probed by the ED, on the basis of a SEBI report, is that R Infra "diverted" funds disguised as inter-corporate deposits (ICDs) to Reliance Group companies through a company named CLE. It is alleged that R Infra did not disclose CLE as its "related party" to avoid approvals from shareholders and audit panels.
A Reliance Group spokesperson had denied any wrongdoing and said in a statement that the allegation regarding alleged diversion of Rs 10,000 crore to an undisclosed party was a 10-year-old matter and the company had stated in its financial statements that its exposure was only around Rs 6,500 crore.
Reliance Infrastructure had publicly disclosed this matter on February 9, 2025, nearly six months ago, the statement said.
"Through mandatory mediation proceedings conducted by a retired Supreme Court judge and the mediation award filed before the Hon'ble Bombay High Court, Reliance Infrastructure arrived at a settlement to recover its 100 per cent exposure of Rs 6,500 crore," it said.
The company added that Ambani was not on the board of R Infra since more than three years (March 2022).
The Union government had informed Parliament recently that the State Bank of India has classified RCOM along with Ambani as "fraud" and was also in the process of lodging a complaint with the CBI.
A bank loan "fraud" of more than Rs 1,050 crore between RCOM and Canara Bank is also under the ED scanner, apart from some "undisclosed" foreign bank accounts and assets, the sources said.
Reliance Mutual Fund is also stated to have invested Rs 2,850 crore in AT-1 bonds, and a "quid pro quo" is suspected here by the agency.
Additional Tier 1 (AT-1) are perpetual bonds issued by banks to increase their capital base, and they are riskier than traditional bonds, having higher interest rates.
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Dense fog disrupts operations at Delhi airport; 228 flights cancelled, 5 diverted
New Delhi (PTI): Dense fog disrupted flight operations at Delhi Airport on Monday, with various airlines cancelling 228 flights and diverting five to nearby airports due to low visibility, an official said.
However, except for Air India, which had in an X post in the morning announced the cancellation of some 40 flights, no other airlines, including crisis-hit IndiGo, shared the numbers of their cancelled or delayed flights.
"As many as 228 flights -- 131 departures and 97 arrivals-- have been cancelled due to low visibility, so far," the airport official said.
In addition to this, five flights have been diverted so far, he said.
Earlier, the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), in a statement, said, "Our on-ground officials are working closely with all stakeholders to assist passengers and provide necessary support across Terminals.
"Low visibility (below minima), due to dense fog, has severely impacted operations at Delhi and other airports across northern India, which is unfortunately beyond our control," IndiGo said in a statement.
As operations are adjusted to prevailing weather conditions, some flights may experience delays, while a few others may be proactively cancelled during the day to prioritise safety and minimise extended waiting at the airport, the airline said in a statement.
IndiGo, however, did not say how many of its flights were cancelled or delayed.
The airline said its teams are "closely monitoring" the situation and coordinating with Delhi airport.
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IndiGo also said it issued advisories to its customers and "proactively" informing them, to minimise inconvenience.
“Poor visibility due to dense fog in Delhi this morning has impacted flight operations for all airlines. We are closely monitoring conditions and will resume operations as soon as it is safe to do so,” Air India said in a post on X in the morning.
It also said that some flights have been cancelled In the interest of safety, and to avoid prolonged uncertainty for the guests, while listing out some 40 arrivals and departures that it had cancelled for the day.
Delhi airport is the country's busiest, handling around 1,300 flight movements daily.
