Anil Ambani Skips ED Summons, Seeks Virtual Appearance For Questioning Over Alleged Bank Fraud

Anil Ambani, chairman of the Reliance Group, did not appear before the Enforcement Directorate on Friday for questioning related to an ongoing investigation under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), according to official's familiar with the matter told NDTV Profit.

Ambani was scheduled to appear before the agency today but has requested that the ED either permit him to join the proceedings virtually or grant a fresh date for physical attendance.

The ED, however, is unlikely to accept the request for a virtual appearance, senior officials indicated, citing the nature of the inquiry and procedural requirements under FEMA.

Instead, the agency is expected to issue a revised date for Ambani to appear in person.

The summons is part of an ongoing probe into alleged FEMA violations, with investigators examining transactions, offshore investments and financial structures linked to entities associated with the Reliance Group.

The business magnate was last interrogated by the agency in August. The agency recently attached assets worth Rs 4,462 crore as part of its investigation against Ambani's group companies.

The ED earlier this month attached an approximately 132 acres of land at the Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City or DAKC in Navi Mumbai, valued at approximately Rs 7,545 crore, in connection to the Reliance Communications bank loan case.

The ED initiated its investigation in the case following a CBI FIR that named Anil Ambani, RCom, and others on charges of fraud, conspiracy, and corruption. The focus of the probe is RCom and its affiliates, which had taken loans totaling more than Rs 40,000 crore from Indian and foreign banks between 2010 and 2012. Five of these accounts have since been declared fraudulent by the lending banks.

The ED investigation has reportedly exposed a complex pattern of financial diversion. The key findings indicate that approximately Rs 13,600 crore was diverted through "loan evergreening", which is a technique used to fraudulently make old loans appear new on the books, the report added.

Also, more than Rs 12,600 crore was allegedly transferred to related companies, and over Rs 1,800 crore was allegedly invested and withdrawn from fixed deposits and mutual funds before being reinvested back into group companies.

The alleged misuse of bill discounting schemes to funnel money to shell companies and the transfer of funds out of India were also uncovered.

According to the ED, the ongoing investigation aims to recover all the misused funds and those transferred abroad.