Enforcement Directorate teams fanned out across Mumbai Friday, raiding about a dozen locations tied to Anil Ambani and Reliance Power executives. Sources say 15 units initiated dawn searches at homes and corporate addresses of those linked to the firm, focusing on suspect financial dealings and fund movements.
While ED remains tight-lipped officially, the sweeps align with ongoing money laundering inquiries into the company. Contextually, this follows the agency’s attachment of Ambani’s premium Pali Hill bungalow ‘Abode’—worth ₹3,716.83 crore—in a Reliance Communications loan fraud saga. PMLA-empowered, the ED’s special unit had previously grabbed ₹473.17 crore from it.
CBI’s late-month intervention added fuel, searching Ambani properties and RCom HQ after Bank of Baroda flagged massive defaults. The FIR indicts Ambani, ex-RCom chairman, for plotting criminal breach and corruption, involving loan diversion exceeding ₹2,220 crore through fake trades and insider routing, hidden via account fiddling.
Recovered files from CBI raids expose the trail of misused borrowings. These back-to-back enforcements paint a grim picture of accountability lapses in high-profile conglomerates. Mumbai’s business corridors buzz with speculation on broader implications for the power sector and Ambani’s revival efforts.
Regulators’ resolve shines through, vowing to unearth and penalize white-collar crimes. The coming days could reveal more on the probe’s scope, impacting market sentiments and policy reforms in banking oversight.