The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached over 132 acres of land at the Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City in Navi Mumbai, valued at Rs 4,462.81 crore, in the Reliance Communications Ltd (RCOM) bank fraud case. The latest action pushes the total value of properties attached in the Reliance Group cases to over Rs 7,500 crore.
The ED had previously attached 42 properties worth over Rs 3,083 crore in the fraud cases involving RCOM, Reliance Commercial Finance, and Reliance Home Finance.
The investigation, based on a CBI FIR, revolves around loans of Rs 40,185 crore that remain outstanding from RCOM and its group companies. Five banks have declared these loan accounts fraudulent.
The ED’s probe found systematic misuse of funds, revealing that loans were used to repay other group entities, transferred to connected parties, and invested in mutual funds against the terms of the loan sanctions. Specifically, the agency identified the diversion of over Rs 13,600 crore for loan evergreening, over Rs 12,600 crore to connected parties, and over Rs 1,800 crore invested in fixed deposits and mutual funds, which were later funneled back to the group. The ED also detected significant siphoning of funds abroad.
The agency stated it is actively pursuing the perpetrators to restitute the proceeds of crime to the rightful claimants. Further investigation is ongoing.