Probe Reveals Bribery and Irregularities in Loan Approvals to Reliance Group Companies
Published on: July 25, 2025
By: [BTNI]
Location: Mumbai, India
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has launched a massive investigation into an alleged Rs 3,000-crore loan fraud involving businessman Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group and Yes Bank, with sources claiming that top bank officials were bribed to clear massive loans without due diligence. The probe, which triggered raids across over 35 locations in Mumbai and Delhi, targets 50 companies and more than 25 individuals linked to the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RAAGA), as per sources cited by NDTV.
According to the ED’s findings, Yes Bank sanctioned loans worth approximately Rs 3,000 crore to RAAGA companies between 2017 and 2019, allegedly facilitated by an “illegal quid pro quo” arrangement. The agency claims that Yes Bank promoters received payments in their privately held concerns just before approving these loans, pointing to a bribery nexus. The investigation has uncovered “gross violations” in the loan approval process, including backdated Credit Approval Memorandums (CAMs), lack of proper due diligence, and disbursals to companies with weak financials. Funds were reportedly diverted to shell companies and other group entities, breaching loan terms.
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The ED’s crackdown, conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), follows two Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIRs and inputs from regulatory bodies like the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), National Housing Bank, National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), and Bank of Baroda. SEBI’s report highlighted a dramatic surge in Reliance Home Finance Limited’s (RHFL) corporate loan portfolio, from Rs 3,742.60 crore in FY 2017-18 to Rs 8,670.80 crore in FY 2018-19, raising further red flags.
The probe also points to practices like “loan evergreening,” where fresh loans were issued to repay existing ones, masking defaults. The ED alleges a calculated scheme to defraud banks, shareholders, and public institutions, with funds siphoned off through complex financial maneuvers. This comes amid other setbacks for Anil Ambani, with the State Bank of India recently classifying Reliance Communications and Ambani as “fraud” accounts, signaling mounting scrutiny on his business empire.
As the investigation deepens, the ED continues to probe the role of Yes Bank officials and RAAGA executives, with potential implications for India’s corporate and banking sectors. Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure, in regulatory filings, clarified that the raids pertain to older transactions involving Reliance Communications and RHFL, asserting no impact on their current operations.
