The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen more than a dozen bank accounts belonging to Reliance Infrastructure in connection with a FEMA investigation involving Anil Ambani. About Rs 55.82 crore was found in these accounts. Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, through its Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), siphoned public funds from highway construction projects awarded by NHAI. Funds were diverted under the guise of sham sub-contracting arrangements to shell companies in Mumbai. These shell entities were set up in a coordinated manner using dummy directors at specific bank branches in Mumbai.
The ED had summoned Anil Ambani for questioning last month, but he did not appear. His spokesperson said the deal was entirely domestic, involved no foreign exchange transactions, and that the JR Toll Road project has been completed and has been under NHAI’s jurisdiction since 2021.
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According to the ED, funds were routed to fake companies in Mumbai that were created under a special scheme using dummy directors. The money was then moved to the UAE through a network of shell companies. The transfers were shown as payments for importing polished and unpolished diamonds, but no goods or documents were received. The UAE companies involved held bank accounts in both the UAE and Hong Kong.
Investigators found that these companies were controlled by individuals linked to international money laundering. The shell companies used in the transactions were involved in laundering more than Rs 600 crore.
The alleged misuse of project funds left the SPV in financial distress, leading to its bank loans turning into NPAs. This resulted in major losses for lenders and posed a risk to public financial interests. Reliance Infrastructure told the stock exchange that it has received the ED order freezing bank accounts worth Rs 77.86 crore for alleged FEMA violations.