Money laundering case: ED arrests Reliance Power CFO Ashok Kumar Pal
Anil Ambani's aide and senior Reliance Power Limited officer, Ashok Kumar Pal, was arrested in connection with money laundering charges
New-Delhi: Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani’s aide and senior Reliance Power Limited officer, Ashok Kumar Pal, was arrested on Saturday in connection with money laundering charges linked to alleged bank loan frauds worth Rs 17,000 crore.
According to officials, Pal was taken into custody late on Friday night after several hours of questioning at the agency’s Delhi office.
Pal has been working as 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.
Officials said Pal was empowered by a board resolution to finalise, approve, and execute documents on behalf of RPL for the SECI bid.
In this capacity, he allegedly conspired to submit a fake bank guarantee with the intention of cheating the PSU.
The ED’s probe revealed that the bogus guarantee was issued in the name of “FirstRand Bank, Manila, Philippines a location where the bank has no operational branch.”
“The guarantee was arranged through Biswal Tradelink Pvt. Ltd (BTPL), a small entity operating from a residential address with no credible record in providing such guarantees. BTPL director Partha Sarathi Biswal, already in judicial custody, is alleged to have assisted in executing the forged document,” said the officials.
Investigators further alleged that Pal approved fake transport invoices worth several crores to facilitate the diversion of funds. He reportedly cleared payments and managed paperwork through Telegram and WhatsApp bypassing Reliance Power’s official SAP and vendor master systems.
The ED also alleged that Pal used the services of a fake bank guarantee racket operating through spoofed email domains resembling those of major Indian banks, such as “s-bi.co.in” instead of the genuine “sbi.co.in”. Similar lookalike domains were used to impersonate other banks, including Indian Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Punjab National Bank.
Officials alleged Pal’s actions form part of a broader criminal conspiracy involving forged instruments and fraudulent communication channels aimed at deceiving public institutions and misappropriating funds from a listed company.
Also Read: Anil Ambani Seeks 7 Days To Submit Required Documents Before ED In Rs 17,000-Crore Loan Fraud Case
