New Delhi, Dec 6 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said it has filed a supplementary chargesheet against Reliance Power Ltd, and 10 others, in the case of fake bank guarantees of Rs 68 crore submitted by Reliance Power Limited to Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for the purpose of securing a tender issued by SECI.
ED filed a Supplementary Prosecution Complaint against Partha Sarathi Biswal; Biswal Tradelink Private Limited; Biothane Chemicals Private Limited; Amar Nath Dutta; Ravinder Pal Singh Chadha; Reliance NU BESS Limited; Rosa Power Supply Company Limited; Manoj Bhaiyasaheb Pongde; Reliance Power Limited; Ashok Kumar Pal and Punit Narendra Garg.
Just before filing the Prosecution Complaint in this case, ED attached proceeds of crime worth Rs 5.15 crore as well.
Reliance Power Ltd said in a statement that “Vide earlier disclosures dated November 7, 2024 and November 14, 2024 we had informed that the Company, Reliance NU BESS Limited had lodged a criminal complaint in above matter against the third parties who had arranged the said bank guarantee with Economic Offence Wing of Delhi Police on October 16, 2024, on basis of which First Information Report (FIR) has been registered on November 11, 2024 against the said third parties”.
It further stated that “Reliance Power Limited, its subsidiaries and its employees acted bona-fidely and are victims of a fraud, forgery, cheating and conspiracy committed by the third parties. Based upon the said FIR, ED initiated its investigation.”
“ED allegations have not yet passed through judicial scrutiny and the Company has not been held guilty of any wrong doing. As per law settled by the Supreme Court, company will get an opportunity to put across its case and facts before the court, even before cognizance, so filing of this complaint does not affect the affairs of the company in any manner,” said the company in an exchange filing.
The company “will take appropriate steps as legally advised to safeguard its interests and the interests of all stakeholders and it maintains its as well as its officials’ innocence of any wrongdoing”.
According to ED, “Reliance Group officials were well aware that a fake Bank Guarantee and its fraudulent endorsements were being submitted to SECI from a spoofed email ID of SBI, and when SECI detected the fraud, Reliance Group arranged a genuine Bank Guarantee from IDBI Bank within a day of intimation of the fraud by SECI. However, SECI refused to accept the fresh Bank Guarantee as it was submitted after the due date”.
The financial regulator initiated the investigation on the basis of First Information Reports (FIRs) “registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police against Reliance NU BESS Ltd (a 100 per cent subsidiary of Reliance Power) based on a complaint filed by SECI, and another FIR filed by Reliance NU BESS Ltd against BTPL and its MD Biswal,” the ED spokesperson said.
Investigation has established the “connivance and mala fide intentions of Reliance Group in securing the SECI tender by submitting fake Bank Guarantees purportedly issued by foreign banks and their forged endorsements in the name of SBI”, said ED.
On Friday, ED said it has provisionally attached properties and assets belonging to Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group entities worth Rs 10,117 crore to date.
In the latest action, the financial regulator attached over 18 properties, fixed deposits, bank balance and shareholding in unquoted investments of Reliance Anil Ambani Group "worth Rs 1,120 crore in Reliance Home Finance Limited/Reliance Commercial Finance Limited/Yes Bank Fraud Case".
The attached properties comprise seven properties of Reliance Infrastructure Limited, two properties of Reliance Power Limited, and nine properties of Reliance Value Service Private Limited.
In separate statements, Reliance Infrastructure Limited and Reliance Power had said “they continue to operate normally, remaining fully committed to growth, operational excellence, and the creation of sustainable value for all stakeholders”.
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