NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has placed former senior executives of the Reliance Anil Ambani Group (RAAG), Amitabh Jhunjhunwala and Amit Bapna, in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for five days as part of an investigation into a money laundering case linked to alleged bank loan fraud.
The 24-page ruling noted that the ED uncovered allegations that loan funds were misappropriated and funneled to shell companies controlled by the group.
The ruling also mentioned that emails recovered during the inquiry have “crystalized” the involvement of both individuals in the diversion of substantial loan amounts.
The pair were arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with bank loan fraud associated with Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL).
Special judge Hasan Anzar of the Rouse Avenue District Court ordered, “Considering all facts and circumstances, the ED is granted five days of custodial remand, and the accused shall be presented in court on 20 April 2026.”
Jhunjhunwala, 70, previously held the position of Group Managing Director at Reliance and was Vice Chairman and Director of Reliance Capital Limited (RCL), RHFL’s parent company.
Bapna was the Chief Financial Officer of RCL and a director at RHFL.
Both companies allegedly defaulted on loans, with unrecoverable amounts exceeding Rs 11,000 crore, classified as proceeds of crime under anti-money laundering laws, as per the court’s ruling.
The court noted that the “digital trail” of emails provided by the ED clearly indicated that both accused played roles in diverting funds to various entities and participated in significant decision-making.
“The nature of the digital evidence in the form of email exchanges further clarifies the involvement of both accused,” the court stated.
The ED has reportedly demonstrated that, following loans taken from several sources, the funds were funneled to several dummy companies under the control of the Reliance Anil Ambani Group.
Jhunjhunwala’s attorney argued that the ED had not properly investigated references to “ADA” in a 2017 email sent by his client to senior management, indicating that all major directives came from top management, including Anil Ambani and Lalit Jalan.
The court acknowledged this argument, noting that the referenced emails suggested these business decisions were influenced by top management, to whom the correspondence was also addressed.
Additionally, an examination of two emails from 2018 and 2019 revealed that loan funds were disbursed to certain entities on the same day they became non-performing assets (NPAs).
“Intriguingly, an email from Bapna to Jhunjhunwala dated 27 February 2019 shows that Bapna kept Jhunjhunwala informed about various shell companies, including their names, dates, and financial details,” stated the order.
