ED targets 'Abode': Anil Ambani's Rs 3,716 crore 17-storey Mumbai home attached under PMLA

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said that it has attached Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani's 17-storey Mumbai residence, 'Abode', valued at Rs 3,716.83 crore. The ED action is part of its money laundering investigation linked to alleged bank fraud involving Reliance Communications (RCom).

Earlier, part of this property was attached to the extent of Rs 473.17 crores. The agency said it had initiated the investigation based on the CBI's FIR against Reliance Communications Ltd (RCOM), Anil Ambani, and others.

According to ED, RCom and its group companies availed loans from domestic and foreign lenders, of which a total amount of Rs 40,185 crores is outstanding. The agency said its investigation has revealed that, among other assets, "the Pali Hill property was aggregated into the RiseE Trust – a Private Family Trust of the members of Mr. Anil Ambani’s family. This was done to make it appear as though Mr. Anil Ambani is not involved."

"The intended effect of this corporate restructuring was to ensure wealth preservation and resource generation by aggregation of the property in the RiseE trust and shield it from the personal liabilities of Mr. Anil Ambani in the form of Personal Guarantees extended by him to lender banks against the loans sanctioned to RCOM," the agency said in a statement, adding that the property was intended to be beneficially used and owned by the Anil Ambani family and not for the distressed public banks whose loans turned NPA. 

A provisional attachment order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against the 66-metre-high luxury property located in Mumbai's upscale Pali Hill area. With this latest action, the total value of assets attached in the case has climbed to around Rs 15,700 crore.

Ambani is expected to appear before the agency in Delhi for a second round of questioning. He had earlier deposed before the ED in August 2025, when his statement was recorded under the PMLA.

The attachment action forms part of a broader probe into alleged financial irregularities and diversion of loan funds within RCOM and related entities.

The ED investigation is based on two FIRs registered by the CBI. These cases relate to allegations of cheating, bribery, and diversion of public funds involving entities of the Reliance Anil Ambani Group.

As part of the probe, searches were carried out at more than 35 premises connected to companies and executives linked to the group under Section 17 of the PMLA. The exercise spanned over 50 companies and included questioning of more than 25 individuals across Mumbai and Delhi.

Rs 3,000 crore loan diversion under scrutiny

The central probe agency is examining what sources describe as a structured scheme to divert loans worth around Rs 3,000 crore from Yes Bank between 2017 and 2019. According to preliminary findings, companies linked to Ambani may have routed funds through shell entities, raising concerns of round-tripping.

Officials are reviewing allegations of back-dated Credit Approval Memorandums, sanction of loans without proper due diligence, and disbursals made prior to formal approvals.

The probe is also examining a possible quid-pro-quo arrangement. Investigators are looking into whether money was received by concerns linked to promoters of Yes Bank shortly before loan disbursements were made.

(With inputs from Munish Chandra Pandey)