ED arrests Anil Ambani group executive in loan fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Ashok Kumar Pal, the chief financial officer of Reliance Power, in connection with a money-laundering investigation into an alleged Rs 3,000 crore bank loan fraud involving firms of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, The Indian Express reported on Saturday.

Pal had been summoned by the central agency to its Delhi headquarters and was arrested on Friday, the newspaper quoted an unidentified official as saying. The action was taken after the agency found sufficient grounds to make his arrest, the official added.

On Saturday, a Delhi court sent Pal to two days of ED custody, The Economic Times reported.

Pal is considered to be a close aide of industrialist Anil Ambani, according to reports.

The central law enforcement agency is investigating allegations of loans worth about Rs 3,000 crore, disbursed by Yes Bank to the conglomerate’s companies between 2017 and 2019, having been illegally diverted.

The agency is also probing whether there was a quid pro quo and if bribes were paid to Yes Bank officials, including promoters of the bank.

The agency has alleged that Pal, whose company is listed on the stock market with more than 75% of the shares held by the public, played a central role in submitting a fake bank guarantee of more than Rs 68 crore to Solar Energy Corporation of...

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