The Anil Ambani-linked Reliance Power made a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges here on Friday denying media reports of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducting searches at premises linked to the company in Mumbai and Hyderabad.
Within hours of the media reporting about the ED raids, the company issued an official statement to the stock exchanges stating, “This is in reference to various media reports alleging that the Enforcement Directorate has conducted raids at locations linked to Reliance Power Limited. In this regard, the company would like to clarify that, to the best of its knowledge, no such action has been carried out at any of the offices or premises of the company”.
The official statement, dated March 6, 2036, sent to the stock exchanges on a letter head featuring the address of its Ballard Estate-based Mumbai office also featured the signature of its Company Secretary Ramandeep Kaur.
Earlier on Friday, it was widely reported in the media that the ED had begun search operations at around 12 locations across the city as part of an ongoing investigation.
It was reported that 15 specialised teams of the ED had searched offices as well as residential premises connected with individuals linked to the company though the ED has not issued any official statement so far.
It may be recalled that recently, the ED had provisionally attached a luxury residential property named ‘Abode’ in Mumbai’s Pali Hill area in Bandra West, valued at Rs 3,716.83 crore, in connection with a bank fraud case involving Reliance Communications Ltd.
According to an earlier official statement issued by the ED, the property was attached under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 and a part of the same property, worth Rs 473.17 crore, had already been attached in the case earlier.
Additionally, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had also conducted searches in February at the residence of Anil Ambani and at the offices of Reliance Communications (RCom) after registering another case against the company.
A case was filed after a complaint filed by Bank of Baroda, which had alleged that it suffered losses exceeding Rs 2,220 crore in connection with loans extended to Reliance Communications.
According to the FIR, the loans were allegedly diverted and misused through fictitious transactions involving related entities. Investigators also alleged that the company’s accounts were manipulated to conceal irregularities.
After the case was registered, the CBI had searched the residence of Anil Ambani and the registered offices of Reliance Communications as well as recovered documents related to the loan transactions, the agency had stated.