New Delhi: Reliance ADAG Group Chairman Anil D. Ambani has declined to appear in person before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for a second round of questioning on Friday, instead offering to cooperate via virtual means.
In a statement issued on his behalf, the company said Ambani remains committed to cooperating with the ED and is willing to participate in the inquiry remotely. However, ED sources have stated that no formal communication regarding this offer has been received.
The statement clarified that the summons pertain to a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) inquiry and not to any investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). It further noted that Ambani was a non-executive director at Reliance Infrastructure from April 2007 to March 2022 and was not involved in the company’s day-to-day operations.
Ambani had previously faced a nine-hour interrogation at the ED headquarters in August in connection with an alleged ₹17,000-crore loan fraud case.
The latest development follows the ED’s provisional attachment of over 132 acres of land worth ₹4,462.81 crore in Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City, Navi Mumbai, under PMLA provisions. Earlier, the agency had attached 42 properties valued at over ₹3,083 crore linked to bank fraud cases involving Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCOM), Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd., and Reliance Home Finance Ltd.
“The total attachment in these cases stands at over Rs7,545 crores. ED is actively pursuing perpetrators of financial crime and is committed to restituting the proceeds of crime to their rightful claimants,” the agency said.
The ED’s investigation is based on a CBI FIR filed under sections 120-B, 406, and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, along with section 13(2) read with section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1989, naming RCOM, Anil Ambani, and others.
(Inputs from IANS)