Anil Ambani's Reliance Power Faces Serious Charges in Major Money Laundering Case

Enforcement Directorate Takes Action Against Reliance Power

In a significant development, the Enforcement Directorate announced on Saturday that it has submitted a chargesheet against Reliance Power Ltd., a company owned by businessman Anil Ambani, along with ten other individuals in connection with a money laundering investigation involving a purported fake bank guarantee worth Rs 68 crore intended for a tender.

The chargesheet identifies several individuals, including Ashok Kumar Pal, the former CFO of Reliance Power, and companies such as Reliance NU BESS Ltd. and Rosa Power Supply Company Ltd., both subsidiaries of Reliance Power. Additionally, it names Biswal Tradelink Private Limited, a shell company based in Odisha, and its managing director, Partha Sarathi Biswal, along with others.

The legal document was filed at the Patiala House court in Delhi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Friday, according to officials.

This case revolves around a bank guarantee of Rs 68.2 crore that was submitted to secure a tender from the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) on behalf of Reliance NU BESS Limited, which was previously known as Maharashtra Energy Generation Limited.

Investigations revealed that officials from the Reliance Group were aware that the bank guarantee was fraudulent. The agency reported that fake endorsements were sent to SECI from a spoofed email address of the State Bank of India (SBI). When SECI identified the fraud, the Reliance Group quickly arranged a legitimate bank guarantee from IDBI Bank, but it was submitted after the deadline.

To salvage the tender, Reliance Group officials attempted to obtain a new endorsement for the fake foreign bank guarantee from an SBI branch in Kolkata, as alleged by the ED.

The Reliance Group has previously stated that Anil Ambani has not been on the board of Reliance Power Limited for over three and a half years and is not involved in this matter. They claim to be victims of a conspiracy involving fraud and forgery, having disclosed relevant information to the stock exchange on November 7, 2024.

The ED's chargesheet also indicates that Reliance Group officials signed a dummy agreement and obtained a Certificate of Enlistment for Reliance NU BESS Limited using false address documents.

When they failed to secure a new endorsement, the Reliance Group shifted the blame onto Biswal Tradelink and its MD, leading to Biswal's arrest along with former CFO Ashok Kumar Pal and consultant Amar Nath Dutta, who are currently in judicial custody.

This money laundering case originated from a November 2024 FIR filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police, alleging that the Bhubaneswar-based shell company was involved in issuing fake bank guarantees for a commission.

Reliance Power Limited had submitted a bid for a tender from SECI to establish 1000 MW/2000 MWh standalone Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) projects through competitive bidding.

The investigation has uncovered evidence of collusion and malicious intent by the Reliance Group in securing the SECI tender through the submission of fake bank guarantees purportedly issued by foreign banks, along with forged endorsements in SBI's name.

As part of the investigation, the ED has attached assets valued at Rs 5.15 crore.

The agency further alleged that Reliance Power, with malicious intent, engaged Biswal Tradelink to procure a fake bank guarantee from a non-existent branch of FirstRand Bank in Manila, Philippines, and from ACE Investment Bank Limited in Malaysia.

The fraudulent endorsements were created using a spoofed SBI email address and forged letters, with a fraudulent domain mimicking SBI's genuine address.

The ED also detailed that Reliance Power transferred Rs 6.33 crore from its subsidiary, Rosa Power Supply Company Ltd., to Biswal Tradelink under the pretense of bogus transportation services to fund the fake bank guarantee.

Fake work orders and invoices were generated by Reliance Group officials in collaboration with Biswal. After the fraudulent bank guarantee was arranged, Reliance Power paid Biswal Tradelink a substantial fee of Rs 5.40 crore to present the entire scheme as a legitimate business transaction.