Following the directions of the Supreme Court, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has formed a six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), to be headed by an officer of the rank of Additional Director, to probe money-laundering cases registered against the Anil Ambani Group of companies, sources said.
Since last August, the ED has registered three separate money-laundering cases against the Anil Ambani Group and has provisionally attached assets worth ₹12,000 crore.
Notably, the ED had issued summons to Anil Ambani’s wife, Tina Ambani, to join the probe on Monday. However, she did not appear before the agency. Fresh summons are likely to be issued soon, sources told Times Now.
Last week, the ED, in an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, said it had searched 46 premises, issued 13 Provisional Attachment Orders, and attached 204 properties valued at ₹12,012.45 crore.
On January 29, the ED’s Special Task Force arrested former director of M/s Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM), Punit Garg, on money-laundering charges.
A division bench headed by the Chief Justice of India observed: “We may hasten to add that both agencies, namely, the ED and the CBI, have already taken their own time before swinging into action. Therefore, we now expect that both agencies will act promptly, independently, fairly, and in a dispassionate manner. Let a status report by both agencies be filed within four weeks.”
During the hearing, senior advocate and former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi assured the Supreme Court that his client, Anil Ambani, would not flee the country. The Supreme Court also perused a CBI report submitted in a sealed cover.
“A report in a sealed cover has been filed by the CBI (respondent No. 3), which has been opened and perused. It appears that a formal FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint received from the State Bank of India. According to the CBI, complaints received from other banks and financial institutions are also being investigated by enlarging the scope of the said FIR,” the Supreme Court said.
“It is imperative upon the CBI to investigate the conduct of the bank authorities to determine whether financial assistance was released in collusion and connivance with the management of the defaulter company.
Such a recourse adopted by the CBI apparently does not seem to conform with procedural law, as each complaint, even if it pertains to defalcation of public funds, is based on its own unique set of facts,” the court added.
Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now
