ED summons Anil Ambani again in ₹2,929-crore Reliance Communications bank fraud case

Core Viewpoint - The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting a money laundering investigation involving Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani, focusing on a ₹2,929-crore bank fraud case linked to Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom) and the State Bank of India (SBI) [1][3]. Group 1: Investigation Details - Anil Ambani is scheduled for a second round of questioning by the ED on November 14, following a previous session in August where he was interrogated for nearly 10 hours under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) [1][2]. - The investigation initiated from a complaint by SBI, leading to a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case registered on August 21, which named RCom, Anil D. Ambani, and other unidentified public servants in the alleged loan default case [3]. Group 2: Financial Context - RCom reportedly has an outstanding debt exceeding ₹40,000 crore to various lenders, with SBI alone incurring a loss of ₹2,929.05 crore based on 2018 figures [4]. - The ED's broader investigation encompasses alleged financial irregularities and loan diversions exceeding ₹17,000 crore by various Reliance Group entities, including allegations of an "illegal" diversion of ₹3,000 crore in loans from Yes Bank to Ambani's group companies between 2017 and 2019 [6]. Group 3: Company Response - A spokesperson for Ambani stated that the complaint relates to issues from over a decade ago, asserting that Ambani had no involvement in the day-to-day management of RCom during that time [5]. - The spokesperson also highlighted that SBI had withdrawn proceedings against five other non-executive directors, suggesting that Ambani was "selectively singled out" in this investigation [5].