CFO of Reliance Power Limited arrested by ED in bank loan fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Reliance Power Limited's (RPL) chief financial officer (CFO) as part of a money laundering investigation into an alleged Rs 3,000 crore bank loan fraud involving companies from the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group.

The CFO, Ashok Pal, was taken into custody on Friday night under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after he was questioned by the agency, they said.

He will be produced before a special court on Saturday and the agency will seek his remand for custodial interrogation, according to the sources.

Pal, a close associate of industrialist Anil Ambani, is alleged to have played a key role in the financial fraud under investigation.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing claims of the illegal diversion of loans amounting to around ₹3,000 crore, which Yes Bank had extended to companies within the Reliance Group between 2017 and 2019. Investigators are also looking into the possibility of a quid pro quo, examining whether bribes were paid to Yes Bank officials, including its promoters, in exchange for the loans, PTI reported.

According to sources, the ED conducted extensive searches across more than 35 locations in Mumbai between July 24 and 27. After gathering evidence, the agency began summoning individuals connected to the case, including Anil Ambani.

Pal serves as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Reliance Power Limited (RPL) — a publicly listed company with over 75 per cent public shareholding, the Indian Express reported.

ED sources said Pal played a "crucial" role in the "diversion" of funds as he and some others were empowered by the company board to finalise, approve and sign all documents for SECI's BESS tender and use Reliance Power's financial capability for the bid. He was referring to the Solar Energy Corporation of India’s battery energy storage system tender.

Investigators from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have alleged that Pal was involved in submitting a fake bank guarantee worth over ₹68 crore to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), with the intent to deceive the public sector undertaking. Sources said he was actively involved in the planning, oversight, financing, and concealment of the forged guarantee that was used for the SECI tender.

According to the ED, its investigation — which included reviewing several documents and questioning multiple individuals — revealed that Pal played a central role in selecting Biswal Tradelink Pvt Ltd (BTPL) to issue the bogus guarantee. The agency found that BTPL was a small firm operating from a residential address, lacking any credible record in providing bank guarantees and having bypassed proper vendor due diligence procedures.

Officials added that BTPL’s director, Partha Sarathi Biswal, has already been arrested and remains in judicial custody in connection with the case.