ED arrests Reliance Power CFO in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested an executive of businessman Anil Ambani's Reliance Group under the anti-money laundering law, official sources said on Saturday. Ashok Pal, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Reliance Power, was taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Friday, they said. The ED is investigating the Anil Ambani group of companies in connection with multi-crore bank "fraud" cases.
According to the company's website, Pal has been a Chartered Accountant with over 25 years of experience and has been working as a Chief Financial Officer at Reliance Power for more than seven years. The money laundering case pertains to alleged financial irregularities and a collective loan "diversion" pegged at more than Rs 17,000 crore by his multiple group companies, including Reliance Infrastructure (R Infra). The first allegation concerns the "illegal" loan diversion of around Rs 3,000 crore, given by Yes Bank to Anil Ambani's group companies between 2017 and 2019. The second allegation includes a similar fraud - but much larger - of over Rs 14,000 crore, allegedly committed by Reliance Communications.
Pal's arrest is a key development in the larger probe into the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) Group, which is being investigated for extensive financial irregularities. In August, the ED raided 35 locations in Mumbai, covering 50 companies and 25 individuals linked to the ADA Group.