NEW DELHI, India — The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday said it has provisionally attached a posh residential property belonging to industrialist Anil Ambani in Mumbai’s Pali Hill area, valued at Rs 3,716.83 crore, in connection with a bank fraud case linked to Reliance Communications Ltd.
According to an official statement, the property, known as “Abode,” has been attached by the Enforcement Directorate’s Special Task Force at its headquarters under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
The agency said a portion of the same property had earlier been attached to the extent of Rs 473.17 crore. With the latest action, the cumulative value of properties attached in cases involving the Anil Ambani Group has crossed Rs 15,700 crore.
The ED initiated its probe based on a Central Bureau of Investigation FIR registered under Sections 120-B, 406, and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1989, against Reliance Communications Ltd, Anil Ambani, and others.
Reliance Communications and its group companies had availed loans from domestic and foreign lenders, with an outstanding amount of Rs 40,185 crore, the agency said.
During the investigation, the ED found that the Pali Hill property, among other assets, was aggregated into the RiseE Trust, described as a private family trust of Anil Ambani’s family members. This structure was allegedly created to give the appearance that Anil Ambani was not involved in the ownership of the property.
The agency alleged that the restructuring was intended to preserve wealth and generate resources while shielding the property from Anil Ambani’s personal liabilities arising from guarantees extended to banks for loans sanctioned to Reliance Communications. The property, according to the statement, was intended to be beneficially owned and used by the Ambani family rather than by public sector banks whose loans later turned non-performing assets.
The ED said further investigation in the case is ongoing. (Source: IANS)
