Anil Ambani grilled by ED for 9 hours in Rs 17,000-crore loan fraud case, to be called again

According to sources, Reliance Group Chairman sought to deny any involvement in the case, maintaining that all the financial decisions were taken by the internal board of his companies

New Delhi: After a gruelling around nine-hour interrogation regarding an alleged Rs 17,000-crore loan fraud case, Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani finally left the Enforcement Directorate (ED) headquarters here on Tuesday.

After the first round, the regulator is set to call Anil Ambani again for questioning in a couple of days, according to sources.

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Reliance Group Chairman has reportedly sought 7-10 days from the probe agency to submit documents related to the alleged scam.

The 66-year-old industrialist was summoned to the ED headquarters in New Delhi, where his statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) under a money laundering probe linked to multiple fraud cases involving several of his group companies.

According to sources, Anil Ambani sought to deny any involvement in the case, maintaining that all the financial decisions were taken by the internal board of his companies, and that he later signed them only.

Some of the questions were regarding whether the loans were diverted to shell companies or did he bribe any officials. Anil Ambani was not allowed to have a lawyer present during the interrogation, which is being recorded on camera.

Earlier in the day, the Reliance Group (RAAGA companies) Chairman and Managing Director left his residence in Mumbai and arrived at the ED headquarters.

Investigators are focusing on whether loans taken by his group companies over the past decade were used for their intended purposes or deliberately diverted. The case involves multiple Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group firms, including Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Communications.

One part of the probe concerns the alleged diversion of around Rs 3,000 crore in loans given by Yes Bank between 2017 and 2019. Another involves a much larger fraud of over Rs 14,000 crore linked to Reliance Communications.

Last week, the ED completed raids at locations linked to Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group. Investigators seized a large number of documents, hard drives, and other digital records from several sites in Mumbai and Delhi.

The raids began as part of a money laundering investigation into the Yes Bank loan fraud case.

The ED, along with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), is looking into allegations of financial irregularities, including fund diversion, loan fraud, and money laundering.