The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Ashok Kumar Pal, the chief financial officer of Reliance Power, in connection with a money-laundering investigation into an alleged Rs 3,000 crore bank loan fraud involving firms of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, The Indian Express reported on Saturday.

Pal had been summoned by the central agency to its Delhi headquarters and was arrested on Friday, the newspaper quoted an unidentified official as saying. The action was taken after the agency found sufficient grounds to make his arrest, the official added.

On Saturday, a Delhi court sent Pal to two days of ED custody, The Economic Times reported.

Pal is considered to be a close aide of industrialist Anil Ambani, according to reports.

The central law enforcement agency is investigating allegations of loans worth about Rs 3,000 crore, disbursed by Yes Bank to the conglomerate’s companies between 2017 and 2019, having been illegally diverted.

The agency is also probing whether there was a quid pro quo and if bribes were paid to Yes Bank officials, including promoters of the bank.

The agency has alleged that Pal, whose company is listed on the stock market with more than 75% of the shares held by the public, played a central role in submitting a fake bank guarantee of more than Rs 68 crore to Solar Energy Corporation of India, according to The Economic Times.

The ED also alleged that Pal had diverted funds through bogus invoices and using a fraudulent bank guarantee racket with spoofed email domains mimicking major banks such as the State Bank of India, the Punjab National Bank and the Union Bank of India to make forged instruments appear genuine, The Economic Times reported.

The ED’s probe is based on two first information reports filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in September 2022, according to the Hindustan Times. The FIRs pertained to two separate loans given by the crisis-hit Yes Bank to Reliance Home Finance Limited and Reliance Commercial Finance Limited.

In July, the ED had conducted raids at more than 35 premises, and searched 50 companies and 25 persons as part of the investigation.

Following media reports about the raids, Reliance Power Limited and Reliance Infrastructure Limited had stated that the central agency’s actions will have “absolutely no impact” on their business operations, financial performance, shareholders and employees.

The companies said that the allegations are likely related to transactions of Reliance Communications Limited or Reliance Home Finance Limited, with which they do not have any “business or financial linkages”.

They added that Anil Ambani was not on their board and “any action taken against RCOM or RHFL has no bearing or impact on the governance, management, or operations” of Reliance Power or Reliance Infrastructure.

📰 Crime Today News is proudly sponsored by DRYFRUIT & CO – A Brand by eFabby Global LLC

Design & Developed by Yes Mom Hosting