- विज्ञापन -
Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated raids at 35 locations related to a loan fraud investigation involving companies of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Group, led by Anil Ambani, according to sources. Officials also mentioned that officials from Yes Bank, including its former chairman Rana Kapoor, are being scrutinized.
The ED is conducting searches at over 35 premises belonging to 50 companies and over 25 individuals under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The agency has taken over two cases previously filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on September 19, 2022, involving two separate loans extended by Yes Bank to Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL), with Rana Kapoor named in both cases.
Additional agencies such as the National Housing Bank, SEBI, NFRA, and Bank of Baroda have also shared information with the ED. Early investigations point to a carefully planned scheme to divert public funds, involving cheating banks, shareholders, investors, and other institutions. The ED is also examining allegations of bribery, including payments made to bank officials and Rana Kapoor.
Preliminary findings suggest around ₹3,000 crore was illegally diverted from Yes Bank between 2017 and 2019. It is also believed that before issuing the loans, the promoters, including Kapoor, received money into their entities, indicating a nexus between bribery and loan approval.
The ED has identified significant irregularities in the loan approval process for Reliance Group companies from Yes Bank. This includes back-dated credit approval memos, loans given without proper due diligence or credit analysis, and diversion of funds to group and shell companies.
Red flags raised during the investigation include loans given to companies with weak financial health, poor documentation, no proper due diligence, shared addresses or directors, and instances of loans being diverted or “evergreened.” Some loans were disbursed on the same day as the application or even before approval, along with misrepresentation of financials.
SEBI has also provided its findings to the ED regarding RHFL. Additionally, there has been a sharp rise in corporate loans to RHFL—from ₹3,742.60 crore in FY 2017-18 to ₹8,670.80 crore in FY 2018-19—which is now under investigation by the ED.
