Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Nov 3: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached over 132 acres of land valued at Rs 4,462.81 crore in the Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) at Navi Mumbai, as part of its ongoing probe into alleged bank fraud linked to Reliance Communications Ltd (RCOM) and its group companies.

The attachment, made under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), adds to a previous seizure of 42 properties worth Rs 3,083 crore, taking the total attachment to over Rs 7,545 crore, the agency said in a statement on Monday.

The ED launched its investigation based on a CBI FIR filed against RCOM, Anil Ambani, and others under charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, and corruption.

According to the agency, between 2010 and 2012, RCOM and its affiliates availed multiple loans from Indian and foreign lenders, leaving an outstanding balance of Rs 40,185 crore. At least five banks have since declared these accounts as fraudulent.

The probe revealed that the borrowed funds were misused and diverted — loans from one bank were used to repay others, and large sums were allegedly transferred to related entities or invested in mutual funds in violation of loan terms.

The ED claims that over Rs 13,600 crore was diverted for “evergreening” loans, Rs 12,600 crore went to connected firms, and Rs 1,800 crore was invested in fixed deposits and mutual funds that were later liquidated and rerouted.

Investigators also uncovered extensive misuse of bill discounting facilities to funnel money to linked companies and detected instances of fund transfers abroad.

“The ED remains committed to pursuing financial offenders and restoring the proceeds of crime to their rightful claimants,” the statement said, adding that further investigation is underway.