ED Raids Six Locations in FEMA Probe Targeting Anil Ambani’s Reliance Infrastructure

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched searches at six premises in Indore and Mumbai on Tuesday, intensifying its investigation into alleged illegal foreign remittances under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The raids centre on Reliance Infrastructure Limited (R Infra), a flagship company in Anil Ambani's debt-laden Reliance Group, with officials probing claims of fund diversion exceeding ₹17,000 crore through inter-corporate deposits (ICDs).

The ED, India's premier agency for tackling economic offences, is scrutinising financial irregularities that could undermine investor confidence in one of the country's prominent conglomerates, which has faced scrutiny since the 2019 abrogation of Article 370 and subsequent economic pressures.

Drawing from a Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) report, the ED alleges R Infra routed loans to other group entities via a lesser-known firm, CLE Private Limited, without disclosing it as a related party. This manoeuvre, investigators claim, circumvented required approvals from shareholders and audit committees, potentially violating corporate governance norms under the Companies Act, 2013.

The undisclosed transactions, spanning several years, are said to have propped up cash-strapped affiliates amid R Infra's mounting liabilities, which peaked at over ₹20,000 crore in non-performing assets by 2020. Ambani's group, once a telecom and infrastructure powerhouse, has undergone restructuring, including asset sales to firms like Adani Group, to stave off insolvency under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

The raids follow a series of ED actions against the Reliance ecosystem. In August, the 66-year-old Anil Ambani was questioned at the agency's headquarters under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), where his statement was recorded in connection with multiple fraud probes involving group firms like Reliance Power and Reliance Communications.

The ED has since contacted 39 banks, including public sector lenders like State Bank of India, to probe due diligence failures in sanctioning high-value loans that later defaulted, raising questions about regulatory oversight by the Reserve Bank of India. On August 1, the agency arrested Partha Sarathi Biswal, managing director of Biswal Tradelink Pvt Ltd, for allegedly issuing fake bank guarantees worth ₹68.2 crore to aid Reliance Power's borrowings, marking the probe's first major detention.

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Compounding the scrutiny, the ED issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against Ambani, barring his international travel—a standard measure to prevent flight risk in high-profile cases. Sources indicate the investigations could expand to overseas jurisdictions if evidence of FEMA violations, such as unauthorised outward remittances, surfaces. As India's economy targets 7% growth amid global headwinds, such probes highlight systemic risks in corporate lending and the push for transparent financing.

The Reliance Group has yet to comment, but outcomes could influence creditor recoveries and Ambani's role in ongoing revival efforts. Further details are expected as searches conclude.

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