Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani’s aide and senior Reliance Power Limited officer, Ashok Kumar Pal, was arrested on Saturday in connection with money laundering charges linked to a fake bank guarantee case. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) took Pal into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
What is the case?
Officials have alleged that Pal, who has been in Reliance Power as a Chief Financial Officer for more than 7 years, has forged a bank guarantee of Rs 68 crore to a government-run entity, Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). As per investigating officials, the accused has smartly spoofed email domains, making the fake guarantee legitimate. This includes banks such as sbi.17313@s-bi.co.in, Indiabank.in, Indusindbank.in, pnbIndia.in, psdbank.co.in, siliguripnb.co.in, lobbank.co.in, and unionbankofIndia.co.in.
It has been found that the accused approved and documented through Telegram and WhatsApp, and the guarantee claimed to be issued by the Manila branch of FirstRand Bank does not actually exist.
Who else is involved?
Another person allegedly involved in the scam is an Odisha-based trader, Biswal. He allegedly operates a small business from his residence and has less credible records. As per the probe, the company was merely a paper entity, with no statutory documents. Besides, in August, Biswas Sarathi, the company’s director, was arrested in the same fake bank guarantees case valued at Rs 68.2 crore. As per sources, the fake guarantees were prepared on behalf of Reliance Power.
Anil Ambani being questioned
Reliance Chairperson Anil Ambani is at the center of a massive money laundering probe. Financial irregularities and loan diversions of Rs 17,000 crore or more are being investigated. As per sources, the key allegation against Anil is one for a Rs 3,000 crore loan by Yes Bank, allegedly diverted to Ambani-led entities around 2017-2019. The second point of investigation is related to Reliance Communications, which is accused of misusing over ₹14,000 crore. People familiar with the matter said there is a series of irregularities, starting from loans issued to unverifiable credentials, missing documents, and the transfer of funds through suspected shell firms. In many cases, it has been noticed that heavy-amount loans were applied for and sanctioned on the same day, even before being officially approved. Since July this year, there have been many raids by the ED at different Reliance companies to probe money laundering and bank fraud.
