ED To Grill Anil Ambani CFO Ashok Kumar Pal In Fake Bank Guarantee Case

The Enforcement Directorate began interrogating Ashok Kumar Pal, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Executive Director of the Anil Ambani-linked Reliance Power, on Saturday, in an alleged money laundering case related to fake bank guarantee of Rs 68 crore.

Pal’s interrogation will go on for two days after the ED was granted his custody by a court in New Delhi. Pal will be produced at the Patiala House Court in Delhi on Monday, according to official sources.

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Earlier, Reliance Power Limited (RPL) CFO Ashok Kumar Pal was arrested by the ED on late Friday night, after he was questioned at the ED’s Delhi office for several hours.

ED arrested Pal in connection with an alleged money laundering probe linked to the alleged Rs 17,000-crore Anil Ambani Group bank loan fraud after being taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED has alleged that Pal played a “key role” in executing a fraudulent bank guarantee of more than Rs 68 crore submitted to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

Allegedly, the guarantee was part of a wider racket involving fake billing, shell companies and fake email domains, aimed at presenting fraudulent financial instruments as legitimate.

The ED has alleged that Pal helped appoint Biswal Tradelink Private Limited, a firm with no credible background, to issue fake bank guarantees.

The ED has alleged that this was part of a scheme to divert public funds from a listed company in which more than 75% of its shares were held by the public.

It may be recalled that Anil Ambani was summoned by the ED for questioning in the case to probe allegations that Yes Bank, under the leadership of its then CEO Rana Kapoor, had extended large loans to the troubled Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group of companies.

Along with the ongoing ED probe, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has also filed chargesheets in two corruption cases involving former Yes Bank CEO Rana Kapoor and Anil Ambani, accusing them of conspiring to transfer public money to financially unstable Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group entities.