(Image source from: REUTERS)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has called in several high-ranking officials from the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) group, led by Anil Ambani, and is expected to question top banking executives as part of its ongoing investigation into suspected money laundering related to loan fraud involving companies within the group, according to news sources. A report indicates that the summons were issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and includes vice-chairman Amitabh Jhunjhunwala and senior official Sateesh Seth from the Reliance ADA group. Several executives, who were previously searched by the agency, are believed to have had significant roles in managing transactions that allegedly deceived a group of banks.
The ED has contacted the managements of around 12 to 13 public and private banks, likely including major institutions like the State Bank of India (SBI), Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, UCO Bank, and Punjab & Sind Bank, asking for information regarding the due diligence and approval steps for loans granted to Reliance Housing Finance Ltd (RHFL), Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom), and Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd. The agency is seeking details about the procedures for loan approvals, the timeline of payment defaults, and the steps taken for recovery. Bank officials may be called in for questioning if their replies do not meet the agency's expectations.
This new move comes shortly after the ED obtained a lookout circular (LoC) for Mr. Ambani in relation to the alleged loan fraud case worth Rs 17,000 crore. Mr. Ambani is required to appear before the agency on August 5, 2025. In the past few months, the ED has conducted searches at 35 locations in Mumbai connected to the Reliance ADA group, involving 50 companies and 25 individuals. The investigation has also revealed links between group entities and a fraudulent bank guarantee of Rs 68.2 crore that was submitted to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). The ED claims that this fake guarantee was supposedly issued in the names of Reliance NU BESS Ltd and Maharashtra Energy Generation Ltd, which are both connected to the Anil Ambani group. Investigators allege that a fake email domain — 's-bi.co.in' — was created to imitate the legitimate SBI address 'sbi.co.in' in order to mislead SECI into believing the guarantee was authentic.
The bank guarantee was reportedly set up by Biswal Tradelink Pvt Ltd (BTPL), a company from Odisha. According to the ED, referencing a FIR filed by the economic offences unit of the Delhi police in November 2024, BTPL provided a fake document along with false SBI endorsements for a SECI tender and received Rs5.40 crore from Reliance Power Ltd for this service. On 1 August 2025, the ED detained Partha Sarathi Biswal, who is BTPL’s managing director, under the PMLA. The agency claims that the company had seven hidden bank accounts, carried out transactions far greater than its reported earnings, and employed dummy directors to sign papers. Investigations uncovered that BTPL lacked official records at its registered office, and breaches of the Companies Act were found. The ED has located criminal proceeds amounting to several crores in the undisclosed accounts. Mr. Biswal will remain in custody until 6 August 2025.
The agency has requested domain registration details from the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) to identify the origin and digital trace of the fake SBI email domain. Last month, the central government confirmed in Parliament that SBI has formally labeled the loan account of Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom) as 'fraud' and has notified the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) about the company’s former director, Mr. Ambani, following the proper regulatory steps. The total amount SBI has at risk with the struggling telecom company exceeds Rs3,000 crore. This includes Rs2,227.64 crore in principal loan funds that are overdue, along with Rs786.52 crore in bank guarantees that are not based on funds, as stated by the government.
RCom, which was once a major player in India’s telecom industry, is currently going through corporate insolvency processes under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). SBI's choice to designate the account as fraudulent represents a major turn in the long financial story surrounding Mr. Ambani’s company, occurring years after the account was first deemed a non-performing asset (NPA) in 2017, backdated to August 2016. With Mr. Ambani expected to meet with investigators, and formal summons issued to both bankers and senior officials, the ED investigation is expanding into what it believes to be a complicated web of fraudulent loans, fake guarantees, and laundering of illegal funds. This case, which involves corporate fraud, bank oversight failures, and cyber-enabled trickery, is being closely monitored by regulators, the banking community, and market analysts.
