ED raids 50 locations linked to Anil Ambani group over Rs 8,000 crore loan fraud allegations

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has intensified its investigation against the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RAAGA) in connection with a major money laundering case. As part of the probe, the ED conducted searches at 48 to 50 locations associated with Anil Ambani across India. These raids come shortly after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered two FIRs against his companies.

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According to ED sources, RAAGA firms allegedly misused bank loans worth thousands of crores by illegally diverting the funds to other group entities. This financial misconduct, investigators claim, resulted in the defrauding of public institutions, investors, and common citizens. Reputed entities such as the National Housing Bank (NHB), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), and Bank of Baroda have reportedly been victims of this fraud.

In a startling revelation, the ED discovered that between 2017 and 2019, RAAGA companies received loans of Rs 3,000 crore from Yes Bank. A portion of this amount was allegedly diverted to shell or related entities without appropriate documentation or credit risk assessment. The agency also suspects that bribes were paid to Yes Bank officials and promoters to facilitate these disbursals.

ED further highlighted procedural violations by Yes Bank, including pre-dated documentation, absence of proper credit evaluation, and same-day disbursal of large corporate loans. Striking similarities in director names and addresses across multiple borrowing firms have raised further suspicion.

Regulatory agencies like SEBI and NHB provided key data to ED, especially concerning Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL), a RAAGA entity. One red flag: RHFL’s corporate loan book rose dramatically from Rs 3,742 crore to Rs 8,670 crore in a single financial year, an unexplained surge under ED’s scrutiny.