ED freezes Reliance Infra’s 13 bank accounts in probe into alleged fund diversion

12 December, 2025
ED freezes Reliance Infra’s 13 bank accounts in probe into alleged fund diversion

Winning Bizness Desk

Mumbai. The Enforcement Directorate has frozen 13 bank accounts of Reliance Infrastructure Limited, blocking deposits worth Rs 54.82 crore. Officials said the move is linked to a long-running FEMA violation probe tied to alleged hawala transactions dating back to 2010. The company, part of the Anil Ambani Group, has not yet issued an official statement on the latest action.

ED targets alleged hawala-linked highway project funds

Investigators say the case traces back to the Jaipur-Reengus highway EPC contract awarded to Reliance Infrastructure in 2010. ED suspects about Rs 100 crore was transferred abroad through hawala routes. Several individuals, including hawala operators, have already been questioned. Anil Ambani has maintained in his recorded statement that the project was completely domestic and had no foreign exchange involvement.

  • 13 bank accounts carrying Rs 54.82 crore frozen
  • Probe linked to 15-year-old alleged hawala case
  • Jaipur-Reengus EPC contract under scrutiny for fund transfers
  • ED suspects Rs 100 crore sent overseas via hawala channels
  • No statement from Reliance Infrastructure so far

ED summons Ambani twice amid non-appearance

Officials said Anil Ambani was called twice last month for questioning in the FEMA case but did not appear. He had earlier been asked to join the probe on November 14. Ambani has written to the agency offering to record his statement through virtual means. The stand-off has added pressure to the ongoing investigation, which has recently intensified in scale.

Fresh attachment of assets worth over Rs 10,000 crore

ED has so far attached assets worth Rs 10,117 crore linked to Ambani group firms in separate money-laundering investigations. The latest action covers 18 properties, including the Rs 16,000 sq ft Reliance Centre at Ballard Estate in Mumbai, fixed deposits, unlisted investments and bank balances. Assets of Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Power and Reliance Value Services have been frozen, along with funds and investments of Reliance Venture Asset Management and Phi Management Solutions.

Financial irregularities flagged in Yes Bank-linked loans

The agency says its detailed examination of Reliance Home Finance and Reliance Commercial Finance uncovered large-scale diversion of funds. Between 2017 and 2019, Yes Bank invested Rs 2,965 crore in RHFL and Rs 2,045 crore in RCFL. By the end of 2019, these had turned into NPAs, resulting in more than Rs 2,700 crore of losses for the bank. Investigators found unusual lending processes such as same-day loan applications and disbursals, skipped field checks, blank documents and alleged routing of funds to group entities.

  • ED calls the lapses an intentional control failure
  • Loans were allegedly diverted to shell and related companies
  • Some units shared directors and registered addresses
  • New loans were used to repay older ones
  • Case is being investigated under PMLA Section 5(1)

Multiple agencies share inputs with ED

CBI had earlier registered FIRs related to two Yes Bank loans extended to RHFL and RCFL, naming former Yes Bank CEO Rana Kapoor. Agencies including SEBI, National Housing Bank, Bank of Baroda and the National Financial Reporting Authority have shared findings with ED. The combined inputs have strengthened the financial fraud and diversion angle that now sits at the centre of ED’s expanded investigation.