Reliance Group companies, Reliance Power Ltd and Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, on Thursday said the searches conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on various premises linked to industrialist Anil Ambani in a money laundering case will have ‘absolutely no impact’ on their business operations, financial performance, shareholders and employees. On Thursday, the ED conducted searches at over 35 premises in Mumbai linked to Ambani in connection with alleged money laundering by Reliance Anil Ambani Group (RAAGA) companies. Fifty companies and 25 individuals are being searched, the central agency said. The enforcement agency has started its investigation on the basis of two FIRs registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and other agencies and institutions. “The media reports appear to pertain to allegations concerning transactions of Reliance Communications Ltd (RCOM) or Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) which are over 10 years old. It is clarified that Reliance Power is a separate and independent listed entity with no business or financial linkage to RCOM or RHFL,” the company said in a filing to exchanges. In a separate exchange filing, Reliance Infrastructure said that it was a separate and independent listed entity with no business or financial linkage to RCOM or RHFL. RCOM is undergoing Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIPR) as per the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, since over six years. RHFL has been fully resolved pursuant to the judgment of the Supreme Court of India, the companies said. Anil Ambani is not on the Board of Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure, the companies said. Accordingly, any action taken against RCOM or RHFL has no bearing or impact on their governance, management, or operations of Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure, they said. Why is ED probing Anil Ambani group-related entities? The ED is also probing the link between a bribe and a loan as they suspect that some bank officials, including the promoters of Yes Bank Ltd, were bribed, the source said. The ED investigation has also allegedly found gross violations in Yes Bank loan approvals to RAAGA companies, such as backdated credit approval memorandums, investments proposed without any due diligence or credit analysis in violation of the bank’s credit policy inter alia, etc. It could be noted that in August last year the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) banned Anil Ambani from the stock market for five years and imposed a fine of Rs 25 crore. The markets regulator alleged fund diversion from Reliance Home Finance (RHFL), a former subsidiary of Reliance Capital.
