ED grills top Reliance ADA Executives in ₹17,000-crore loan fraud and money laundering probe

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday questioned top executives of Anil Ambani-led Reliance ADA Group companies including Amitabh Jhunjhunwala and Satish Seth, a day after Group Chairman Anil Ambani was interrogated for over eight hours in connection with an alleged bank loan fraud involving Reliance Group entities.

According to sources, Jhunjhunwala and Seth, who have overseen financial operations of the Reliance ADA Group, appeared at the ED headquarters in New Delhi for questioning.

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Significantly, the ED has identified at least 25 senior executives of the Reliance ADA Group during multi-location raids conducted recently, and they are likely to be summoned for further interrogation.

Sources said the ED is also expected to seek an extension of the custody of Partha Sarathi Biswal, Managing Director of Biswal Tradelink Private Ltd, who was arrested last Friday.

Biswal was allegedly involved in arranging fake bank guarantees worth ₹68.2 crore. He may be confronted face-to-face with Anil Ambani during further questioning.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that Anil Ambani was questioned about his foreign assets and financial transactions in India and abroad as part of the ED’s ongoing money laundering probe. Ambani has reportedly sought seven days to furnish the required documents and details, according to sources.

The ED is likely to summon Ambani again in the coming days.

Investigators believe that senior Reliance ADA Group executives were actively involved in diverting funds and defrauding banks.

There are suspicions that some banks may have received kickbacks for overlooking loan defaults that eventually turned into non-performing assets (NPAs).

As part of its probe, the ED has written to 39 banks, seeking explanations on why these institutions did not flag the suspicious loan accounts or alert authorities when defaults began to occur.

The agency is examining whether bank officials deliberately ignored warning signs or were bribed to remain silent. It is likely that both private and public sector bank officials who sanctioned or oversaw loans to the Reliance Group will be summoned for questioning. The ED will also seek details on the actions, if any, taken by these banks against the defaulting companies.

Nearly 20 banks — both public and private — had extended loans to Anil Ambani’s group companies over a period of time. These loans, amounting to nearly ₹17,000 crore, ultimately turned into NPAs.

Three major Reliance Group entities under scrutiny are Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL), Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL), and Reliance Communications (RCom). Banks that extended loans include Yes Bank, State Bank of India, UCO Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Bank of India, and Punjab & Sind Bank.