New Delhi, April 16 Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group said on Thursday that Amitabh Jhunjhunwala and Amit Bapna, who earlier held charge of senior positions in the group, are currently not working with it.
The duo has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with an ongoing money laundering investigation linked to an alleged banking fraud involving group entities such as Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL).
Reliance said that Jhunjhunwala left the group in December 2019, while Bapna left in September 2019, and they no longer have any association with group companies, including Reliance Infrastructure Limited and Reliance Power Limited.
Jhunjhunwala served as the Group Managing Director of the Reliance Group, as well as Vice Chairman and Director of Reliance Capital Limited during his association with the group. Bapna served as the Chief Financial Officer of Reliance Capital Limited, as well as Director of Reliance Home Finance Limited, during his tenure at the Reliance Group.
The ED has arrested Jhunjhunwala and Bapna in an ongoing investigation under the PMLA, based on multiple ECIRs registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), according to sources.
Jhunjhunwala, as Director of Reliance Capital Limited, is alleged to have been one of the key decision-makers in various operations of RHFL and RCFL at the relevant time, sources added.
Earlier this month, the CBI registered a case against Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom), Anil Ambani, unknown public servants, and unknown others on allegations of causing wrongful loss of Rs 3,750 crore to Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India.
The case was registered based on a complaint received from Life Insurance Corporation of India Ltd. for offences of conspiracy, cheating, misappropriation, and offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, according to an official statement.
It is alleged that LIC was fraudulently induced to subscribe to Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) worth Rs 4,500 crore based on false representations made by Reliance Communications Ltd. and its management regarding the financial health of the company, and security and asset cover offered to LIC while subscribing to the NCDs. Investigation of the case is in progress.
The CBI had earlier registered three cases against RCom Ltd, Anil Ambani, and others on allegations of defrauding many banks. Anil Ambani was also interrogated by the CBI at its Delhi headquarters for two days in a row in connection with the alleged Rs 2,929.05 crore SBI fraud case.
Late last month, the Supreme Court stressed the need for a coordinated, fair, and time-bound investigation into alleged large-scale bank frauds linked to Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications (RCom) and its group entities.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, observed that investigating agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) must "join hands" and work in coordination to unearth the truth transparently and independently.
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