Mumbai: Anil Ambani's Reliance Group is in trouble these days. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) seized increasingly than 40 properties of the group on suspicion of money laundering. Net value? Around Rs 3,084 crore! This includes Mumbai's famous Pali Hill Bungalow, Delhi's Reliance Center and office flats spread wideness Noida-Chennai. The whoopee took place on October 31 under PMLA.
What was seized?
ED issued four separate orders in which these high-value properties were implicated:
- Pali Hill's residential bungalow and Bandra office.
- Reliance Centre, which is like the headquarters of the group.
- Commercial Plots in Noida-Ghaziabad.
- Flats and Land in Pune, Hyderabad, and Chennai (Kanchipuram).
- Plots of East Godavari.
All these are related to Reliance Home Finance (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance (RCFL). ED said, "These properties are the proceeds of crime; they will be returned to the public." This 'treasure' worth Rs 3,084 crore is now in ED's possession!
What is the secret of fraud?
The story is old but deep – between 2017-19, loans worth Rs 2,965 crore were given in RHFL and Rs 2,045 crore in RCFL, which later became NPA. Arrears? Rs 1,353 crore on RHFL, Rs 1,984 crore on RCFL. The real wham in Reliance Communications (RCom): Fraud worth Rs 13,600 crore! In this, Rs 12,600 crore was transferred to related companies, and Rs 1,800 crore went missing in stock-still deposits. Bill discounting was a mess, and Yes Wall played the role of 'middleman'. "The funds were diverted within the group and did not go out," the ED said.
ED's eye on Anil
Anil Ambani was summoned in the loan fraud specimen in August. Raids at 35 locations in Mumbai in July, 25 people detained. In October, CFO Ashok Pal was unprotected in a fake wall guarantee case. A total of 50 companies are under investigation. CBI and SEBI are moreover not far overdue – triple attack!
What will happen next?
Experts say this seizure can help the creditors (banks) get the money back. But the health of Reliance Group will worsen further. ED warns—more resources are on the line! This whoopee is shaking Reliance, but will it be a lesson for wipe business?
