Shares of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Power and Reliance Infra surged 5% to hit the upper circuit at Rs 47.46 and 294.75 respectively. The two shares have witnessed a sharp decline in their stock prices, plummeting by as much as 19% in the last six trading sessions. The fall comes amid an ongoing investigation into an alleged ₹17,000 crore loan fraud involving these Anil Ambani-led companies.
The alleged loan fraud involves loans given to Reliance Home Finance Ltd, Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd, and Reliance Communications. These loans, amounting to around ₹17,000 crore, have reportedly turned into non-performing assets (NPAs), involving nearly 20 lenders. Among them are State Bank of India, UCO Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Bank of India, and Punjab and Sind Bank.
Anil Ambani was asked to appear before the agency after it conducted searches at 35 premises of 50 companies and 25 people, including executives of his business group, in Mumbai on July 24. The Enforcement Directorate questioned Anil Ambani's top aides including Amitabh Jhunjhunwala and Sateesh Seth on Wednesday as per a NDTV Profit report. Both Jhunjhunwala and Seth appeared at the federal agency's headquarters in New Delhi. The two aides being questioned are senior executives in Ambani’s business empire and have handled major financial operations.
The agency had earlier identified at least 25 executives during multi-location searches. According to the sources, the agency will seek extension of Partha Sarathi Biswal's remand in court. Biswal will be produced before a special PMLA court, which had granted ED his custody till today. Biswal, Managing Director of Biswal Tradelink Private, was arrested on Friday in connection with the Anil Ambani case. He was taken into ED custody for allegedly arranging fake bank guarantees worth Rs 68.2 crore.
Earlier, Reliance ADAG had clarified that the ongoing investigation pertains to transactions involving YES Bank and Reliance Home Finance from over eight years ago. It also asserted that the loans in question have been fully repaid. "Loans extended by Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL) to certain private companies of the promoter of YES Bank were sanctioned on merit, following due process, and were duly approved by a credit committee comprising more than 30 individuals. These loans were fully secured and have been fully repaid, including interest, with zero outstanding," the group stated.
The group also highlighted that RPower and RInfra are "nearly debt-free," with a net worth of Rs 16,431 crore and Rs 14,883 crore, respectively. Both the companies had earlier, issued a statement saying, ED actions have no bearing on its operations, finances, or stakeholders. The company also stated that it remains focused on executing its business strategy and committed to creating long-term value for its stakeholders.