New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has made its first arrest in the ongoing Rs 3,000-crore loan fraud case involving Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group. Partha Sarathi Biswal, managing director of Biswal Tradelink Pvt Ltd, was taken into custody on Friday for allegedly submitting forged bank guarantees worth Rs 68.2 crore to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). The guarantees were reportedly arranged on behalf of Reliance Power.

Biswal was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and was presented before a special court, which granted the ED his custody until Wednesday.

Forged documents and spoofed emails

According to sources, Biswal Tradelink—founded in 2019—submitted the fake guarantees using fabricated documentation and forged email confirmations. Investigators found that the emails were sent from a spoofed domain 's-bi.co.in', closely resembling the official domain of the State Bank of India ‘sbi.co.in’. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police had earlier registered a case based on these findings.

Further investigation revealed that Biswal Tradelink fraudulently received Rs 5.4 crore from Reliance Power for facilitating the forged guarantees. The ED also uncovered at least seven undisclosed bank accounts linked to the firm, as well as the use of dummy directors and non-compliance with mandatory record-keeping norms.

ED probe into loan diversion

The arrest follows a wider ED investigation into the suspected diversion of Rs 3,000 crore in loans extended by YES Bank to Reliance Group companies between 2017 and 2019. The agency suspects a quid pro quo arrangement, noting that promoters of YES Bank had received payments shortly before the loans were sanctioned.

Just a day before Biswal’s arrest, the ED issued a lookout circular against Anil Ambani in connection with the case. The agency has also been conducting nationwide raids since July 24, targeting more than 50 firms allegedly involved in laundering or misappropriating loan funds.

Reliance Group responds

In response to the media coverage surrounding the ED's raids, Reliance Power issued a statement to stock exchanges distancing itself from the allegations. “The media reports appear to pertain to allegations concerning transactions of Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM) or Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL), which are over 10 years old,” the company stated.