India, Dec 11 — The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday announced the seizure of 13 bank accounts belonging to Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (R-Infra), an Anil Ambani Group company, as part of an ongoing FEMA investigation linked to alleged hawala transactions. The accounts collectively hold ₹54.82 crore, the agency said.
According to the ED, R-Infra and its special purpose vehicles (SPVs) siphoned off public funds from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)-awarded highway projects and diverted the money illegally to the UAE. The transactions allegedly involved layering funds through multiple shell entities before being remitted abroad under the guise of importing polished and unpolished diamonds without any goods or supporting documentation.
The case pertains to a 2010 EPC contract awarded to R-Infra for the construction of the JR Toll Road (Jaipur–Reengus highway). The agency stated that the diversion of project funds caused “severe financial stress” to the SPVs, eventually turning bank loans into non-performing assets (NPAs) and causing losses to lenders.
In a regulatory filing, Reliance Infrastructure said it had received an ED order placing a lien of ₹77.86 crore on the company’s bank accounts in connection with alleged FEMA violations.
Last month, the ED summoned Anil Ambani (66) for questioning, but he reportedly informed the agency that he was only available for a virtual appearance. A spokesperson for Ambani had earlier said the JR Toll Road contract was entirely domestic with no foreign exchange component, adding that the project was completed and handed over to NHAI in 2021.
The ED claims the UAE-linked entities receiving the remitted funds maintained bank accounts in both UAE and Hong Kong, and were controlled by individuals engaged in international hawala operations. Shell entities used in the alleged transactions were purportedly involved in hawala dealings exceeding ₹600 crore.
A spokesperson also clarified that Ambani served as a non-executive director of R-Infra between April 2007 and March 2022 and was not involved in day-to-day management.