Kamal Ghorui
New Delhi: In fresh action against Anil Ambani and his Reliance group entities, ED on Tuesday said it has attached his family properties worth another Rs 3,035 crore, including a flat in Usha Kiran building in Mumbai and a farmhouse in Khandala (Pune), taking attachments to nearly Rs 20,000 crore in the ongoing money laundering case.The latest attachments have been made as part of ED’s investigation against Reliance Communications (RCom), which, the agency said, has defaulted over Rs 40,000 crore of bank loans, siphoning off public funds. “The provisional attachment under PMLA has been made to prevent dissipation of assets and to protect interests of banks and public,” ED said.While a spokesman for Anil Ambani claimed that the flat in Usha Kiran and the farmhouse in Khandala belong to his mother Kokilaben Ambani, ED has said the flat is registered in the name of Anil Ambani and the farmhouse in the name of Luna Trust and his son Jai Anshul Ambani. The agency said a land in Sanand, Ahmedabad, in the name of Mudra Foundation for Communications Research and Education (MICA), has been also attached.“Besides these, Rs 7.7 crore shares of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, held by RiseE Infinity Pvt Ltd – a group entity of Anil Ambani under the RiseE Trust umbrella, which is a private family trust of the members of Anil Ambani’s family – were also attached,” ED said.“Under Section 8 of PMLA, confiscated property would be restored to legitimate claimants who suffered loss, including victim banks. Thus, the attachment preserves value so that, after due legal process, public money can be recovered and restored to banks and ultimately the general public, in accordance with law,” ED said.
