In Mumbai, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken a major step to clamp down on a large money‑laundering scheme. On Monday, the agency announced it has temporarily seized more than 132 acres of land in the Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City, worth about ₹4,463 crore. The move comes under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and follows the earlier attachment of 42 properties that total over ₹3,083 crore in bank‑fraud cases tied to Reliance Communications Ltd (RCOM) and its sister companies, Reliance Commercial Finance and Reliance Home Finance.
The overall value of assets seized so far in these cases tops ₹7,545 crore. “ED is actively pursuing the perpetrators of financial crime and is committed to returning the proceeds of crime to the rightful owners,” the agency said in a statement.
The investigation began after the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a First Information Report (FIR) against RCOM, Anil Ambani and others, charging them with offenses under sections 120‑B, 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, and sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The ED has traced a tangled web, finding that RCOM and its group companies borrowed about ₹40,185 crore from banks between 2010 and 2012. Five banks have already identified these loans as fraudulent.
Rather than using the money for business, the group allegedly shifted loans from one bank to help pay off debt at another, transferred funds to related parties, and invested in mutual funds and fixed deposits—actions that breach the loan agreements. Notably, more than ₹13,600 crore were funneled for “evergreening” (renewing loans on top of each other), over ₹12,600 crore went to connected entities, and about ₹1,800 crore was put into fixed deposits and mutual funds, only to be quickly liquidated and re‑stated into group companies. The ED also uncovered an extensive use of bill discounting to move money to associates, as well as offshore remittances that siphoned funds out of India.
The agency says it will continue probing these irregularities. Its focus remains on cutting off illegal financial flows and ensuring that losses are repaid to victims.
Source: ianslive
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