Mumbai, 24 July

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted simultaneous raids as part of a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged bank loan fraud of Rs 3,000 crore against Anil Ambani group companies and Yes Bank, official sources said.

More than 35 premises in Mumbai and Delhi of 50 companies and about 25 persons are being searched under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.

ED sources said they are probing allegations of illegal loan diversion of around Rs 3,000 crore from Yes Bank between 2017 and 2019.

The ED has found that just before the loan was granted, Yes Bank promoters received money in their concerns, the sources said.

The agency is investigating this nexus of "bribe" and the loan.

The federal agency is probing allegations of "gross violations" in Yes Bank loan approvals to Reliance Anil Ambani Group companies, such as back-dated credit approval memorandums (CAMs), investments proposed without any due diligence/credit analysis in violation of banks credit policy, the sources said.

The money laundering case stems from at least two CBI FIRs and reports shared by the National Housing Bank, SEBI, National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) and Bank of Baroda, they said.