Anil Ambani undertakes not to leave country pending CBI-ED probes

NEW DELHI: Industrialist Anil Ambani on Wednesday gave an undertaking to the Supreme Court through his lawyer that he would not flee India pending court-monitored CBI and ED probes into alleged siphoning of Rs 40,000 crore from loans availed of from banks.

With petitioner EAS Sarma’s counsel Prashant Bhushan apprehending that given the spread and size of the fraud, the principal accused may leave the country, a bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said, “We don’t want any such thing to happen.”

There’s LOC against Anil Ambani, court told

When the bench told solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who was representing both CBI and ED, to take preventive steps to ensure that investigation into the alleged fraud was not impeded, Mehta said that there was a look out circular (LOC) against Ambani, indicating that any attempt to flee the country would be foiled at the airport.

Ambani’s counsel Mukul Rohatgi said, “There are many LOCs against him. But in the last three years, two ADAG companies have paid back Rs 20,000 crore to the banks. If he was to flee the country, why would he repay such huge amounts?”

When Rohatgi assured the SC that Ambani would not leave the country without prior permission of the court, Mehta cautioned Rohatgi and reminded him that despite similar undertaking given by him on behalf of another client, that person had fled the country. The bench recorded the SG’s assurance that “all preventive/remedial measures would be taken to ensure that the ongoing investigations are not impeded”.

The bench took exception to CBI registering only one FIR on SBI’s complaint against ADAG and adding similar loan amount siphoning complaints from other banks and financial institutions to the SBI FIR.

“Each loan taken is a separate agreement. The modus operandi may be similar but violation of each agreement is a separate offence. Why would CBI not register separate FIRs?” the bench asked. Mehta said CBI would examine this issue and register separate FIRs if needed.

The bench also found it strange that CBI was awaiting sanctions to investigate bank officials who were in collusion with ADAG officials in the alleged defrauding of banks through siphoning of loan amounts. It directed CBI to investigate all such bank officials involved in the crime, ignoring any legal impediment on that score. The SC said it would continue to monitor the CBI and ED probes and asked the two agencies to file a fresh status report in four weeks.

The petition, filed through advocate Pranav Sachdeva, alleged that ADAG companies — Reliance Communications, Reliance Infratel and Reliance Telecom — cumulatively received loans of Rs 31,850 crore from a consortium of public sector banks led by State Bank of India between 2013-17.

SBI’s deputy GM Jyoti Kumar registered an FIR on Aug 21 alleging “conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal misconduct by Reliance Communications, Anil Ambani and other individuals resulting in a loss of Rs 2,929 crore”, the petitioner said, adding that the FIR was based on the report of a forensic audit of financial transactions of the three ADAG companies for the period 2013-17, which was commissioned by SBI in 2019.

The ED, in its affidavit, informed the SC that it has so far registered three PMLA FIRs (ECIRs) against ADAG companies, searched 46 premises, issued 305 summonses, attached 204 properties worth Rs 12,000 crore and arrested four persons. Under Fema, it has attached properties worth Rs 78 crore, it said.

Select The Times of India as your preferred source on Google Search