Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Ashok Kumar Pal, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Reliance Power, in connection with a suspected fake bank guarantee racket valued at ₹68.2 crore. Pal, a close aide of Anil Ambani, was taken into custody as part of a widening probe into financial irregularities involving the Reliance Group.
Alleged Fake Bank Guarantee Submitted to SECI
The ED investigation is based on a 2024 FIR by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), which alleged that a bogus bank guarantee was submitted to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a public sector enterprise under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. The fake guarantee was issued in the name of Reliance NU BESS Limited and Maharashtra Energy Generation Limited, both associated with Anil Ambani’s group.
Spoofed SBI Email and Key Players Identified
According to the ED, Odisha-based Biswal Tradelink played a central role in the fraud. Its managing director, Partha Sarathi Biswal, was arrested earlier in August for arranging the fake guarantees. To make the fraudulent guarantees appear legitimate, the group used a spoofed email domain “s-bi.co.in” instead of the official “sbi.co.in” to communicate with SECI. Biswal Tradelink allegedly charged an 8% commission for the fake guarantees. The probe further revealed that the company existed only on paper, with no statutory records found at its registered address.
Pal’s Role in Reliance Power
Pal, a Chartered Accountant, has been associated with Reliance Power for over seven years and was appointed CFO on January 29, 2023. His arrest marks a significant escalation in the ED’s investigation into the suspected financial fraud involving Reliance-linked entities.
