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Days after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned businessman Anil Ambani in a money laundering case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday raided premises linked to Reliance Communications (RCOM) and its Promoter Director.
The raids, conducted at multiple places in Mumbai, were in connection with an alleged fraud that caused a loss of over Rs 2,000 crore to the State Bank of India (SBI), according to sources.
The SBI classified RCOM and 66-year-old Ambani as "fraud" on June 13 in accordance with the Reserve Bank of India's Master Directions on Fraud Risk Management and the Bank's Board-approved Policy on Classification, Reporting & Management of Frauds.
In its letter to RCom, SBI said it found deviation in the utilisation of loans, involving a complex web of fund movements across multiple group entities.
"We have taken cognisance of the responses to our show-cause notice and after due examination of the same, it is concluded that sufficient reasons have not been provided by the respondent, to explain the non-adherence to the agreed terms and conditions of the loan documents or the irregularities observed in the conduct of the account of RCL to the satisfaction of the bank," the bank said.
As per RBI guidelines, after a bank classifies an account as "fraud", the lender should then report it to the RBI within 21 days of detection and also report the case to the CBI or police.
Earlier this month, Anil Ambani faced a gruelling nine-hour interrogation at the ED headquarters in the national capital regarding an alleged Rs 17,000-crore loan fraud case
. The regulator was set to call Anil Ambani again for questioning in a couple of days, according to sources.
Reliance Group Chairman had reportedly sought 7-10 days from the probe agency to submit documents related to the alleged scam.
According to sources, Anil Ambani sought to deny any involvement in the case, maintaining that all financial decisions were taken by the internal board of his companies, and that he only signed them.
The ED had conducted raids at locations linked to Anil Ambani's Reliance Group. Investigators seized a large number of documents, hard drives, and other digital records from several sites in Mumbai and Delhi. The raids began as part of a money laundering investigation into the Yes Bank loan fraud case.