ED arrests ex RCOM president Punit Garg in Rs 40k crore bank 'fraud' case

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has arrested former Reliance Communications (RCOM) president Punit Garg on money laundering charges in an alleged Rs 40,000 crore worth bank loan fraud case against group companies of businessman Anil Ambani.

The 61-year-old Garg was taken into custody on Thursday.

A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Delhi sent him to nine days of ED custody, the federal probe agency said in a statement.

Garg, ex-president and director of Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM), was arrested in connection with an ongoing investigation linked to an alleged over Rs 40,000 crore bank fraud and money laundering by RCOM and its group entities, the ED said.

There was no immediate comment from the Reliance Group to a PTI query on the arrest.

The ED had said on Wednesday that it has attached shares and mutual funds in the name of Garg's wife.

"Garg, while holding senior managerial and directorial positions in RCOM over an extended period from 2001 to 2025, was actively involved in the acquisition, possession, concealment, layering, and dissipation of proceeds of crime generated from the said bank fraud," the ED claimed.

The alleged laundered funds were "diverted" through multiple foreign subsidiaries and offshore entities of RCOM, it claimed.

As president of RCOM, the agency said, Garg was handling the global enterprise business of the company between 2006-2013. He also served as president (regulatory affairs) from 2014 to 2017.

In October 2017, Garg was appointed as executive director of RCOM and from April 2019 till April 2025, he served as a non-executive director of RCOM, according to the agency.

It was found that the proceeds of crime generated from this alleged fraud were "diverted" for the purchase of a luxury condominium apartment in New York's Manhattan.

This property was "fraudulently" sold in 2023 during the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) of RCOM by Garg, the ED said. It is understood that RCOM informed the stock exchange about this "fraudulent" sale in 2025.

"The sale proceeds of USD 8.3 million (about Rs 69.55 crore in 2023) were remitted from the USA under the guise of a sham investment arrangement with a Dubai-based entity controlled by a Pakistan-linked individual, without the knowledge or consent of the Resolution Professional (RP)," the agency said.

A part of the proceeds of crime- public money taken by RCOM as bank loans ' was "diverted" for Garg's personal expenses, including overseas education-related payments of his children, it claimed.