NEW DELHI, India — Reliance ADAG Group Chairman Anil D. Ambani did not appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday for a scheduled round of questioning in a money laundering probe, and the agency has declined his request to participate virtually, according to officials familiar with the matter.
Ambani, who was summoned for the second time to the ED’s Delhi headquarters on November 14, did not attend the session. Sources said the agency has received an email from him expressing his willingness to appear via video link, but the ED has made it clear that no virtual appearance will be permitted.
In a statement to the media, Ambani said he is “willing to offer to appear by virtual means” and will “fully cooperate with ED on all matters.” He maintained that the summons relates to a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) inquiry, not a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
According to the statement, the summons stems from a 2010 domestic EPC contract for the Jaipur–Reengus (JR) Toll Road and involves issues associated with a road contractor, with “no foreign exchange component.”
The statement also emphasized that Ambani is no longer connected to the management of Reliance Infrastructure. He served as a non-executive director from April 2007 to March 2022 and “was never involved in the day-to-day management of the company,” it said.
Ambani previously faced nearly nine hours of questioning at the ED’s Delhi office in August in connection with an alleged Rs 17,000-crore loan fraud case involving companies under the Reliance Group umbrella.
As part of its wider investigation, the ED has already attached 42 properties valued at more than Rs 3,083 crore linked to alleged bank fraud cases involving Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCOM), Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd., and Reliance Home Finance Ltd. (Source: IANS)
