RPower hit the lower circuit of 5% following the ED's notice preventing Anil Ambani from leaving India
The ongoing investigation on Anil Ambani's Reliance Group took a drastic turn when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) put out a lookout circular against the businessman, preventing him from departing the nation. The action comes as officials go all out to probe claims of loan default and money laundering worth around ₹17,000 crore through various group firms of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG).
As per authorities in the know, Ambani has been asked to report to the ED headquarters at New Delhi on August 5 to be questioned under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Some of his top executives, including close assistants Amitabh Jhunjhunwala and Sateesh Seth, are facing concurrent summons. The investigation comes on the heels of a string of ED raids at 35 places in Mumbai and other cities on July 24, against 50 firms and over 25 individuals linked to Reliance ADAG.
The investigation is based on charges that Reliance Group firms had a complex game plan to divert public money by transferring loans raised from Yes Bank and a host of other lenders. Investigators claim that loans worth ₹3,000 crore lent by Yes Bank between 2017 and 2019 were diverted, a total of almost ₹17,000 crore if the scope is widened to other institutions. The ED's probe also involves rigorous questioning of 39 banks, inquiring as to why suspected anomalies in loan approvals and repayments were not raised earlier.
The ED has raised pointing to purported back-dated credit approval letters, bank guarantee forgeries, and potential quid pro quo deals between Reliance Group managers and lenders. In particular, there came evidence of a Rs 68-crore bogus guarantee issued to the Solar Energy Corporation of India based on a shell company, with spoof documents and spoofed emails replicated to simulate authentic bank communication.
In its defence, Reliance Group asserts that it acted in good faith, reporting to be a victim of fraud and that the disclosures needed were done to regulators and exchanges. The company maintains that it is collaborating fully with the authorities and submitted its own criminal complaint against the parties they accuse of creating the false documents.
The developing controversy has pushed Reliance ADAG group stocks into a decline. Reliance Power fell 5% to ₹47.58 on Monday, Reliance Infrastructure fell 4.98% to ₹296.15, and Reliance Home Finance fell close to 4.84% to ₹4.84. The investors are worried about the seriousness of the ongoing investigation, increased regulatory focus, and increasing legal challenges, with the resultant uncertainty likely to take a toll on the group's market worth in the short term.
As Anil Ambani gets ready to confront investigators, the business community waits with bated breath for further details—and potential broader consequences for India's banking and financial regulatory frameworks.
