Tina Ambani, wife of industrialist Anil Ambani, has skipped a summons from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the second time in a month, failing to appear at the agency's headquarters on Tuesday for a money-laundering investigation. She had previously missed an appointment on February 9. Officials have now confirmed that a fresh summons will be issued shortly.
The 68-year-old former actress was called in for questioning regarding a money trail linked to the purchase of a luxury condominium in Manhattan, New York.
This development follows the ED's attachment of assets worth ₹1,885 crore belonging to the Reliance Anil Ambani Group last month. The attachments included bank balances, shareholdings, and immovable properties related to alleged fraud cases, which involve Reliance Home Finance Limited, Reliance Commercial Finance Limited, and Yes Bank.
With these recent actions, the cumulative attachment of assets linked to the group has reached approximately ₹12,000 crore.
The ED has detected the fraudulent diversion of public funds by various Reliance Anil Ambani Group companies, including Reliance Communications Ltd, Reliance Home Finance Ltd, and Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd. According to the agency, Yes Bank invested heavily in instruments of Reliance Home Finance and Reliance Commercial Finance between 2017 and 2019, which became non-performing assets by December 2019.
Investigations reveal that these Reliance entities received public funds exceeding ₹11,000 crore. Furthermore, it is alleged that before investing this money, Yes Bank had received substantial funds from the erstwhile Reliance Nippon Mutual Fund.
The ED investigation is based on an FIR registered by the CBI against RCOM, Anil Ambani, and others regarding outstanding loans exceeding ₹40,185 crore. Nine banks have found the loan accounts of the group to be fraudulent.
The probe revealed that loans availed by one company were used to repay loans of other companies, which were then transferred to their associates or invested in mutual funds, violating the terms of the loan agreements. In particular, the ED said that RCOM and its group of companies misappropriated more than ₹13,600 crore in evergreen loans and more than ₹12,600 crore to their associates. Moreover, serious irregularities in bill discounting were also found, where some loans were diverted abroad via foreign remittances.
The ED said that it is hot on the trail of the culprits behind these financial offenses and is determined to return the proceeds of crime to their rightful owners.
Also read: ED forms SIT, summons Anil Ambani’s wife
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