ED Attaches INR 1,452 Crore of Fresh Assets Linked to Anil Ambani Amid Fraud Probe
India’s financial crime agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), has attached immovable assets worth INR 1,452 crore in connection with a money-laundering and loan-fraud investigation involving industrialist Anil Ambani and his associated group companies.
With this latest action, the total value of properties provisionally attached in the case has reached nearly INR 9,000 crore.
What was seized
The assets attached include multiple buildings and plots located in key cities: Navi Mumbai (including the Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City and Millennium Business Park), Chennai, Pune and Bhubaneswar.
The order was issued under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The background of the probe
The investigation centres on alleged diversion and laundering of public funds by group firms such as Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL).
Specifically, during 2017-2019, Yes Bank invested about INR 2,965 crore into RHFL instruments and INR 2,045 crore into RCFL instruments. By the end of 2019, significant portions of those investments had become non-performing.
The ED’s earlier findings point to loans taken by entity A being used to repay loans of entity B, transfers to related parties and investment in mutual funds in breach of sanction terms.
Reactions and implications
The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) has stated that the firm under investigation, Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom), has not been part of the group since 2019 and is undergoing insolvency proceedings.
In the stock markets, shares of group firms reacted negatively, with one report noting a fall of up to 3 % in related counters.
The ED emphasised that it remains “actively pursuing perpetrators of financial crimes and is committed to restituting proceeds of crime to their rightful claimants”.
What happens next
Further investigations are underway. The ED is examining the full trail of loans, fund flows, related-party transfers and potential violations of foreign exchange rules. If charged and convicted, attached assets may be seized permanently and proceeds returned to creditors or depositors.
Given the scale of attachment and the public nature of the case, the outcome may also influence broader regulatory and bank-loan oversight practices in India.
Nitin Konde
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