The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Amitabh Jhunjhunwala and Amit Bapna, both considered close associates of Anil Ambani, in connection with the alleged loan fraud involving Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL).

Amitabh Jhunjhunwala previously served as the Group Managing Director of the Reliance Anil Ambani Group and was also the Vice Chairman of Reliance Capital. Amit Bapna, meanwhile, held a senior leadership position at Reliance Finance.

According to ED findings, companies within the Anil Ambani group allegedly laundered funds exceeding ₹40,000 crore. So far, the agency has attached assets worth around ₹17,000 crore, including a residential property valued at ₹3,700 crore. Both the CBI and ED have questioned Anil Ambani multiple times. He has, however, stated that he stepped down from the boards of these companies in 2017.

Earlier in April, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a fresh criminal case against industrialist Anil Ambani and Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom), alleging a wrongful loss of ₹3,750 crore to Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). The action followed a forensic audit that flagged alleged fund diversion and misrepresentation of the company’s financial position to secure investments.

The FIR, filed on April 1, 2026, names Anil Ambani, Reliance Communications, and unknown public servants. According to LIC’s complaint, the insurer was allegedly induced to invest ₹4,500 crore in non-convertible debentures (NCDs) under misleading circumstances.

Case details

In March, ED provisionally attached 31 immovable properties worth ₹581.65 crore as part of its ongoing investigation into Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL). The assets, largely land parcels, are spread across multiple states, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Karnataka.

This action follows search operations conducted on March 6 under FEMA in the Reliance Power case and takes the total attachment in cases linked to RHFL, RCFL, and Reliance Communications to over ₹16,310 crore. The ED also froze assets worth ₹2.48 crore and seized ₹77.86 crore across 13 bank accounts of Reliance Infrastructure.

According to the agency, over ₹11,000 crore of public funds turned NPAs and were allegedly diverted through shell entities to group companies, indicating deliberate siphoning and mala fide intent by key promoters.

The ED said these funds were routed through multiple shell or dummy entities with negligible financial strength and no real business operations, making it difficult to trace the end use. Investigators believe the structure was designed to layer transactions and mask fund diversion.

The attached assets have been identified as proceeds of crime under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency added that further investigation is underway to trace additional assets and establish accountability of key individuals involved in the alleged financial irregularities.

Published on: Apr 15, 2026 10:32 PM IST