The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted large-scale raids at premises associated with businesses of the Reliance Anil Ambani Group, or the Reliance Group, as part of its ongoing investigation into suspected money laundering, sources told The Economic Times.

Following the development, Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure issued a joint statement asserting that the action had no bearing on the business operations, financial performance, shareholders, employees, or other stakeholders of the two entities.

The statement added that the media reports "seem to relate to transactions of Reliance Communications Limited or Reliance Home Finance Limited, which were done a decade ago."

"Reliance Power is a separate and independent listed entity without any business or financial relationship with RCOM or RHFL," the companies said.

Reliance Communications has been undergoing the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, for more than six years. “RHFL has been completely resolved according to the Supreme Court judgement,” the statement added. “Similar charges as indicated in the media reports are sub-judice and pending before the Hon’ble Securities Appellate Tribunal, as per public information.”

The companies also stated that Anil Ambani is not a director on the boards of Reliance Power or Reliance Infrastructure, and that any legal action concerning Reliance Communications or Reliance Home Finance does not impact the governance, management, or operations of these two listed firms.

Citing a source not authorised to speak publicly, the ED suspects that the group ran a “well-planned” scheme to withdraw loans worth ₹3,000 crore from YES Bank between 2017 and 2019 through about a dozen shell companies.

The source added that entities linked to Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group allegedly paid bribes to YES Bank officials to secure loan approvals, several of which violated the bank’s internal procedures.

After 2017, many companies in the Anil Ambani group entered bankruptcy proceedings. YES Bank, which had lent large sums to these firms, was declared insolvent in 2020 and was later revived under a resolution plan led by a consortium of Indian banks and approved by the Reserve Bank of India.

Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation is reportedly in talks to acquire a 20 percent stake in YES Bank, though regulatory approval is still pending.

Investigations have also uncovered irregularities in YES Bank’s lending practices, including loans to financially weak companies, backdated internal ratings, the “evergreening” of loans to avoid defaults, and the publication of misleading financial reports.

Former YES Bank promoter Rana Kapoor, arrested by the ED in 2020 for alleged bank fraud, had denied the charges. He was granted bail in 2024 by a special court in Mumbai.

Anil Ambani group firms have faced regulatory scrutiny in recent years. In August 2024, SEBI barred Anil Ambani and 24 others from the securities market for five years over fund misuse at Reliance Home Finance.

Following news of the latest ED raids, shares of Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Power fell 5 per cent on Thursday.