Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani Reaches ED's Mumbai Office Over Yes Bank Probe

Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani reached the Enforcement Directorate office in Mumbai in connection with a probe against Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor on Thursday. There were reports that Ambani may seek an exemption from appearance on health grounds. At Rs 14,000 crore, Anil Ambani was the biggest borrower of Yes Bank. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said in a March 6 press conference that the Anil Ambani Group, Essel, ILFS, DHFL and Vodafone were among the stressed corporates Yes Bank had exposure to.

Ambani’s statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) upon deposition, the ED officials said.The ED has accused Rana Kapoor, his family members and others of laundering “proceeds of crime” worth Rs 4,300 crore by receiving alleged kickbacks in lieu of extending big loans through their bank that later turned NPA. On March 5, the RBI had imposed a moratorium on Yes Bank, restricting withdrawals to Rs 50,000 per depositor till April 3. The RBI also superseded the board and placed it under an administrator, Prashant Kumar, former deputy managing director and CFO of SBI.

Anil Ambani is among several business leaders who have been summoned by the ED. Top corporate honchos, including Essel Group promoter Subhash Chandra, Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal and Indiabulls chairman Sameer Gehlaut are among those who have been asked to join the money-laundering probe. These businessmen represent the top five firms that have either taken loans or dealt in similar transactions with the crisis-hit Yes Bank and these accounts were either in the red or were stressed, the officials said.

Meanwhile, Yes Bank on Wednesday announced the resumptions of operations, and all its banking services are available for its customers now. “All banking services are now operational. Customers can now experience the full suite of our services. Thank you for your patience and co-operation,” the lender tweeted. With this, the withdrawal limit of Rs 50,000 by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the Yes Bank’s customers has been lifted. The development comes after the government notified the Yes Bank reconstruction scheme last week. State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Rajnish Kumar on Tuesday said the country's largest lender, which owns close to 43 per cent stake in Yes Bank now, will not sell a single share before the mandated three-year lock-in period, and that he's in fact keen to approach the board for hiking the holding to 49 per cent.Under the RBI and government-driven rescue of the fourth largest private lender, SBI was initially asked to take up to 49 per cent stake by investing Rs 7,250 crore into the equity capital of Yes Bank. 

(With agency inputs)