INDIA's financial crimes agency has seized properties worth over $846 million from companies linked to Anil Ambani as part of a bank fraud investigation.
Anil Ambani, the younger brother of Mukesh Ambani, has businesses in sectors including power and defence, but his fortunes have declined over the last two decades.
In recent months, he has faced scrutiny from law enforcement agencies over alleged diversion of bank loans and money laundering.
On Monday evening, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said it had frozen assets worth more than 75 billion rupees, which include office premises, residential units, and over 132 acres (53 hectares) of land as part of its probe.
The ED said it had “detected fraudulent diversion of public money by various Reliance Anil Ambani group companies” and added that it was “committed to restituting” the proceeds of these crimes to “their rightful claimants”.
It said the investigation was launched on the basis of a criminal case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in August.
Reliance Infrastructure, which is controlled by Anil Ambani, said in a statement on Monday that the ED’s decision to seize assets would have “no impact” on business operations.
The CBI case followed a complaint by the State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, which reported a loss of 29.29 billion rupees after Reliance Communications “misappropriated” bank funds.
A Reliance spokesperson had said then that Anil Ambani “strongly denies all allegations and charges” and “will duly defend himself”.
Anil Ambani was previously in the spotlight seven years ago when opposition leader Rahul Gandhi accused him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of wrongdoing related to the Rafale jet deal with France. Both denied the allegations.
India’s Supreme Court dismissed calls for a probe into the fighter jet deal in December 2018.
(With inputs from agencies)
