Reliance Power distances itself from former executives arrested by ED

Reliance Power on Thursday clarified that two former senior executives of the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group, who were arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a bank loan fraud and money laundering case, had severed ties with the group nearly seven years ago.

In a regulatory filing to stock exchanges, the company said Amitabh Jhunjhunwala exited the group in September 2019, while Amit Bapna stepped down in December 2019.

“Reliance Group clarifies that Mr. Amitabh Jhunjhunwala left the Group in September 2019, (nearly seven years ago). He had no association with the Group thereafter, including Reliance Infrastructure Limited and Reliance Power Limited,” the company said in a media statement.

“Mr. Amit Bapna left the Reliance Group in December 2019, (nearly seven years ago). He had no association with the Group thereafter, including Reliance Infrastructure Limited and Reliance Power Limited,” it added.

The clarification comes a day after the ED arrested Jhunjhunwala and Bapna under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following questioning in connection with an alleged bank loan fraud case.

During their tenure, Jhunjhunwala had served as group managing director of the Reliance Group and vice chairman and director of Reliance Capital Ltd, while Bapna was the chief financial officer of Reliance Capital and a director at Reliance Home Finance Ltd.

The federal probe agency has alleged that the fraud involved diversion of bank loans through group entities such as Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd using shell companies.

The ED case is based on FIRs registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The agency has produced the accused before a court seeking custody for further interrogation.

Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Power have a combined investor base of approximately 50 lakh shareholders and serve millions of customers.

Reliance Power has a total installed capacity of 5,305 MW, including 4,000 MW Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project in Madhya Pradesh.