The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached assets valued at Rs 3,034.90 crore under section 5 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in the M/s Reliance Communications Ltd (RCOM) alleged bank fraud case
The provisional attachment under PMLA has been made to prevent dissipation of assets and to protect the interests of banks and the public, sources informed
Investigation was initiated based on multiple CBI FIRs registered on the complaints of State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda and Life Insurance Corporation of India, against RCOM, Anil D Ambani and others
RCOM and its group companies availed loans from domestic and foreign lenders, of which a total amount of Rs 40,185 crore has been outstanding
ED probe revealed certain assets of the promoter group, including a flat in the Usha Kiran Building, Mumbai, a farmhouse in Khandala, Pune and a land parcel in Sanand, Ahmedabad
Besides these, 7.71 crore shares of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd., held by M/s Risee Infinity Pvt Ltd - a group entity of Anil Ambani under the RiseE Trust umbrella, which is a private family trust of the members of Anil Ambani's family - were also attached.
The RiseE Trust was set up to ensure wealth preservation and resource generation by aggregation of properties in RiseE Trust and shield it from the personal liabilities of Anil Ambani in the form of personal guarantees extended by him to lender banks against the loans sanctioned to RCOM.
The properties were intended to be beneficially used and owned by the Anil Ambani family and not for the distressed public banks whose loans turned NPA.
Under Section 8 of PMLA, confiscated property would be restored to legitimate claimants who suffered loss, including victim banks.
Thus, the attachment preserves value so that, after due legal process, public money can be recovered and restored to banks and ultimately the general public, in accordance with law.
The SIT, constituted on the directions of the Supreme Court, is investigating the Reliance Anil Ambani Group (RAAG) cases involving diversion and laundering of public banks.