Anil Ambani skips ED summons for second time in FEMA probe

Anil Ambani. File Pic

Reliance ADAG Group Chairman Anil Ambani on Monday skipped the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) summons for the second time, failing to appear before the agency at its Delhi headquarters in connection with a FEMA investigation linked to the Jaipur-Reengus highway project, sources told news agency IANS.

Ambani had earlier missed an in-person questioning session on Friday after the ED declined his request to join the proceedings virtually. He again sought permission to appear via video conferencing on Monday, but the agency insisted on a physical appearance.

According to ED sources, investigators intend to record Ambani's statement under FEMA as part of a probe into allegations that around Rs 40 crore from the 2010 highway project awarded to Reliance Infrastructure was diverted abroad. The money was allegedly routed through Surat-based shell companies to Dubai, forming part of what officials believe is a wider international hawala network worth over Rs 600 crore, reported IANS.

Ambani had responded to Friday's summons via email, offering to appear virtually, but the ED rejected the request and issued a fresh notice directing him to appear in person on November 17.

In a statement, a Reliance Group spokesperson said, "Mr Anil Ambani has offered to make himself available for the recording of his statement, at any date and time suitable to ED, via virtual appearance/recorded video."

The spokesperson also clarified that Ambani "is not a member of the Board of Reliance Infrastructure" and had served only as a non-executive director between April 2007 and March 2022, without involvement in the company's daily operations. The Jaipur-Reengus project, the spokesperson added, was a purely domestic contract handled by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) with no foreign exchange components, reported IANS.

Ambani was previously questioned for nearly nine hours in August at the ED headquarters in connection with an alleged Rs 17,000-crore loan fraud case.

The latest development comes days after the ED provisionally attached over 132 acres of land valued at Rs 4,462.81 crore in the Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) complex in Navi Mumbai under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency had earlier attached 42 other properties worth more than Rs 3,083 crore in cases linked to Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCOM), Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd., and Reliance Home Finance Ltd.

With the latest action, total attachments in these cases have crossed Rs 7,545 crore. "ED is actively pursuing perpetrators of financial crime and is committed to restituting the proceeds of crime to their rightful claimants," the agency said in a statement, reported IANS.

The ED's investigation stems from a CBI FIR against RCOM, Anil Ambani and others under IPC sections 120-B, 406, 420, and relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. According to officials, RCOM and its group companies took substantial loans from domestic and foreign lenders between 2010 and 2012, with outstanding dues amounting to Rs 40,185 crore; five banks have since classified the accounts as fraudulent.

(With inputs from IANS)