A Delhi court on Saturday rejected a plea that questioned the legality of Ashok Kumar Pal’s arrest. Pal, who was the chief financial officer (CFO) of Reliance Power—a company owned by industrialist Anil Ambani—was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on October 11 on charges of money‑laundering.
The judge at Patiala House Court said Pal’s arrest was lawful. The ED says Pal helped funnel company money and submit bogus bank guarantees worth more than ₹68 crore to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), allegedly to cheat a public‑sector enterprise. He remains in judicial custody and has already stepped down as CFO of Reliance Power.
The ED’s probe is linked to a central bureau of investigation (CBI) complaint involving loans from Yes Bank to several Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) Group companies. The case centers on about ₹3 000 crore in loans disbursed by Yes Bank between 2017 and 2019 that the authorities say were misused. The ED estimates that the total exposure of Reliance Group firms in the matter could reach ₹17 000 crore.
Last month the ED searched 35 sites tied to the Reliance Group, covering over 50 companies and 25 individuals suspected of wrongdoing. In a related development, the Bombay High Court upheld State Bank of India’s (SBI) decision to label Anil Ambani’s and Reliance Communications’ loan accounts as fraudulent, citing fund diversion, breach of covenants, and related‑party transactions. SBI had already sent the matter to the CBI on June 13.
The court’s ruling leaves the ED’s investigation on track while keeping the broader inquiry into financial irregularities in the Anil Ambani business empire moving forward.
Source: ianslive
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