The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday launched raids over 35 locations across India as part of a major investigation into an alleged ₹3,000 crore loan fraud involving Anil Ambani-led Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group companies. The probe also includes former Yes Bank officials, including its ex-chairman Rana Kapoor.
According to officials, the raids were carried out at premises linked to 50 companies and over 25 individuals. These actions were taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after the ED took over two cases earlier filed by the CBI in September 2022. The cases relate to large loans granted by Yes Bank to Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL).
Investigators have uncovered a pattern of illegal loan diversion and financial irregularities between 2017 and 2019. It is alleged that bribes were paid to Yes Bank promoters, including Kapoor, just before the loans were sanctioned. The ED suspects that key loan documents were backdated, proper credit checks were skipped, and large amounts were diverted to group and shell companies—violating banking norms and misleading investors and public institutions.
Other agencies like SEBI, National Housing Bank, NFRA, and Bank of Baroda have also shared inputs with the ED. The investigation is ongoing, and more developments are expected in the coming days.
