Indian Authorities Freeze $351 Million in Assets of Anil Ambani Group Amid Escalating Money Laundering Probe

In a dramatic escalation of its multi-year investigation into corporate malfeasance, India’s federal financial crime agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), has provisionally frozen assets worth nearly $351 million linked to the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group. The attachment, issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), targets more than 40 properties, including residential and commercial units across major Indian metropolitan areas like Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai. Significantly, sources confirmed that the freeze includes the prominent Pali Hill family residence of the industrialist, once one of the world’s wealthiest men. The ED’s action raises concerns of manipulation of political power by the Indian Government to target its opposition’s allies. The probe centers on the alleged diversion and laundering of public funds originally raised through loans from Yes Bank Ltd. between 2017 and 2019, according to statements from government sources close to the investigation.

The funds in question amount to more than $568 million advanced to Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL), both subsidiaries of the Anil Ambani Group. The ED’s preliminary findings, which form the basis of the provisional attachment orders issued on October 31, 2025, suggest that a significant portion of these borrowed funds was systematically routed through a complex network of shell companies. A high-ranking government official, speaking on condition of anonymity to Indian media has stated that the investigation has uncovered a “well-planned scheme” where loan proceeds were funneled through mutual funds and other investment vehicles and then rerouted to group-linked entities, a process that allegedly violated existing financial regulations. This diversion of capital, estimated by the ED to be around $350 million, is central to the money-laundering charge, particularly as the investments ultimately yielded no returns for the lenders, contributing to the ultimate collapse of Yes Bank, which had to be rescued by a consortium of lenders led by the State Bank of India in 2020. The ED has also cited evidence of “weak borrower profiles, missing documentation, and misuse of funds,” indicating what the agency calls “intentional control failures” within the lending process.

The ongoing probe is not isolated. It runs parallel to investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which recently filed a chargesheet alleging a criminal conspiracy between Ambani and former Yes Bank chief executive Rana Kapoor, claiming the illegal transactions caused substantial losses to the private lender. Furthermore, the Enforcement Directorate is pursuing a separate, massive investigation into Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCOM) and its affiliates, alleging a further diversion of over $1.5 billion through loan evergreening and fund rerouting. The legal maneuvering by the Reliance Group has included attempts to leverage Section 32A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), arguing that the group is shielded from legal proceedings for acts committed before the 2019 insolvency filings. However, the ED’s utilization of the PMLA’s stringent provisions demonstrates the government’s resolve to bypass such corporate defenses when public funds are suspected to be involved.

The developments have drawn sharp commentary from civil society. An October report by the NGO Moneylife, which has tracked the Reliance Group’s financial trajectory for years, argued that regulatory indifference to the group’s escalating financial distress was a systemic failure. The NGO claimed that the mounting troubles, marked by numerous defaults, failed initial public offers, and the use of over 122 companies operating from a single Mumbai address with little business activity, should have triggered enforcement action much earlier. Moneylife also referenced an earlier report by investigative portal Cobrapost, which alleged a massive financial fraud exceeding $500 million through fund diversion via offshore channels, an allegation the Reliance Group has consistently and vehemently denied as a “malicious campaign” driven by commercial rivals to artificially depress stock prices. Despite the group’s denial that the current ED action is based on “old, publicly available information,” the move to attach core assets signals that the government’s crackdown on corporate governance is gaining significant momentum and reaching into the heart of India’s biggest industrial houses. The final confirmation of these provisional attachments will determine whether this marks a turning point in India’s battle against financial crime or simply a prolonged legal battle with the country’s beleaguered industrialist.