Anil Ambani skips ED summon in money laundering case

Industrialist Anil Ambani on Friday did not appear before the Enforcement Directorate ED despite being summoned for questioning in a money laundering case reported the ANIAnil Ambani had earlier appeared at the agencyrsquos headquarters in Delhi on Thursday and recorded his statement before investigators at around 11 am The questioning is part of an ongoing probe into alleged financial irregularities linked to group companiesThe fresh summons came after the ED attached Anil Ambanirsquos residential property lsquoAbodersquo in Mumbairsquos Pali Hill area valued at Rs 371683 croreThe attachment was carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA Earlier a portion of the same property worth Rs 47317 crore had already been attachedWith this action the cumulative attachment of assets in cases linked to the Reliance Anil Ambani Group has crossed Rs 15700 crore according to agency sources as per the ANIProbe linked to RCOM caseThe money laundering investigation stems from a First Information Report FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation CBIThe FIR names Reliance Communications RCOM Anil Ambani and others under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption ActAccording to the ED RCOM and its group companies availed loans from domestic and foreign lenders between 2010 and 2012 The total outstanding dues are estimated at Rs 40185 crore The agency alleges that more than Rs 14000 crore relates to loan fraud under investigation according to the ANIThe Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary had earlier informed Parliament that the State Bank of India SBI classified RCOM and Anil Ambani as ldquofraudulentrdquo under RBI guidelinesAlleged diversion of fundsThe ED has alleged that loans raised by one group entity were used to repay borrowings of other companies routed through related parties or invested in mutual funds in violation of loan termsInvestigators claim thatover Rs 13600 crore was diverted for alleged evergreening of loansRs 12600 crore was funnelled to connected parties andaround Rs 1800 crore was invested in fixed deposits and mutual funds and later rerouted reported the ANIThe agency has also alleged misuse of bill discounting facilities and possible siphoning of funds abroad through foreign remittancesRCOM is also accused of cheating Canara Bank of over Rs 1050 crore Undisclosed foreign bank accounts and overseas assets are reportedly under examinationOther attachments and findingsLast year the ED attached over 132 acres of land in Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City in Navi Mumbai worth Rs 446281 crore under PMLA provisionsInvestigators have also examined transactions involving investments in AT1 bonds of YES Bank by grouplinked entities and alleged diversion of funds through intercorporate deposits as per the PTIThe ED has stated that it remains committed to pursuing financial crime cases and ensuring recovery of proceeds of crimeThe probe is based on offences registered under sections 120B criminal conspiracy 406 criminal breach of trust and 420 cheating of the Indian Penal Code along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act the news agency reportedFive banks have reportedly declared certain group loan accounts as fraudulentThe investigation is ongoingwith ANI inputs