ED Files Chargesheet Against Reliance Power in Fake Bank Guarantee Case
The chargesheet has been filed under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at the Patiala House court in Delhi
NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said it has filed a chargesheet against businessman Anil Ambani’s group company Reliance Power Ltd. and 10 others in a money laundering case linked to an alleged fake bank guarantee of ₹68 crore used to secure a tender.
The other accused named in the prosecution complaint (chargesheet, in police parlance) include former Reliance Power CFO Ashok Kumar Pal, Reliance NU BESS Ltd. and Rosa Power Supply Company Ltd. (both subsidiaries of Reliance Power), Odisha-based “shell” company Biswal Tradelink Private Limited, its managing director Patha Sarathi Biswal, Biothane Chemicals Pvt. Ltd., and trade financing consultant Amar Nath Dutta.
Additional accused include Ravinder Pal Singh Chadha, Manoj Bhaiyasaheb Pongde and Punit Narendra Garg, the agency said.
The chargesheet was filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at the Patiala House Court in Delhi on Friday, officials said.
The case pertains to a bank guarantee of ₹68.2 crore submitted to secure a tender from Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) on behalf of Reliance NU BESS Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Power and formerly known as Maharashtra Energy Generation Limited.
According to the ED, the investigation found that Reliance Group officials were aware that the bank guarantee was fake. “Fraudulent” endorsements were submitted to SECI through a “spoofed” SBI email ID. When SECI detected the fraud, Reliance Group arranged a genuine bank guarantee from IDBI Bank within a day of being informed.
“However, SECI refused to accept the fresh bank guarantee as it was submitted after the due date,” the ED said.
Reliance Group had earlier issued a statement saying that Anil Ambani has “not been on the Board of Reliance Power Limited for more than 3.5 years and is not concerned with this matter in any manner.”
It also claimed to be a “victim of fraud, forgery and cheating conspiracy” in the case, adding that it had made the necessary disclosures to the stock exchange on November 7, 2024.
The ED further alleged that Reliance Group officials signed a “dummy” agreement and obtained the “Certificate of Enlistment” of Reliance NU BESS Limited from Kolkata Municipal Corporation using “bogus” address documents.
