A Delhi court on Thursday sent former senior Reliance Anil Ambani Group executives Amitabh Jhunjhunwala and Amit Bapna to five-day custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case related to an alleged bank loan fraud. According to PTI news, the court’s 24-page order states that during the investigation, the Enforcement Directorate has found evidence which indicates that the loan amount was allegedly transferred to shell companies which were controlled by the group. The order also said that digital testimonies such as emails recovered during the investigation “clearly” expose the role of the agencies and confirm the diversion of funds worth crores of rupees.
Will be presented in court again on April 20
According to the news, ED has arrested both of them under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The case pertains to an alleged loan scam involving Reliance Home Finance Limited and Reliance Commercial Finance Limited. Rouse Avenue Court Special Judge Hasan Anzar said in his order that considering the liabilities and circumstances of the case, the accused are sent to ED custody for five days and they will be produced again in the court on April 20.
Jhunjhunwala had held these posts
Amitabh Jhunjhunwala has been Group Managing Director at Reliance Group and was also Vice President and Director of Reliance Capital Limited, the parent company of RHFL and RCFL. Whereas, Amit Bapna has been the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of RCL and Director of RHFL. According to the court, the loans taken by these companies were not repaid and an amount of more than Rs 11,000 crore has been revealed as ‘Proceeds of Crime’ under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
The court also said this
The court also said that emails and other digital evidence made it clear that both were involved in separate transfers of reward funds and related documents. According to the investigating agency, after taking the loan, the buyer was sent to several shell companies, which were allegedly under the control of Reliance Anil Ambani Group. However, Jhunjhunwala’s lawyer argued that despite ADA (Anil Dhirubhai Ambani) being mentioned in a 2017 email, this aspect was not investigated. He said all instructions came from top management, which his client carried forward.
The court told – what does the email indicate?
Recording this contention, the court said that the available emails indicate that many welfare decisions were taken on the instructions of the top management and were also included in the concerned mail. Further, the court cited some emails of 2018 and 2019 and said that the loan amount was transferred to some of the mentioned on the same day the respective accounts were declared NPA (Non-Performing Asset).
Referring to an email dated February 27, 2019, the court said that Amit Bapna had regularly communicated information, dates and financial statements related to the shell companies to Jhunjhunwala, which further explains his active role in the case.
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