The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Ashok Kumar Pal, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and aide of Anil Ambani, in connection with a money laundering probe against Reliance Power, officials familiar with the case confirmed on Saturday.

Pal, who also served as a former director of Reliance Power, has been taken into custody under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The arrest is linked to the ED’s broader investigation into alleged ₹17,000 crore bank fraud involving the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group of companies.

According to sources, Pal’s arrest is part of a case related to an alleged fake bank guarantee and loan diversion that the agency has been probing for several months.

Reliance Power responds

In a regulatory filing dated October 11, Reliance Power said that Ashok Kumar Pal has stepped down from his roles as Executive Director and CFO with immediate effect.

“The company and its subsidiaries acted bona fide and are victims of fraud, forgery, and cheating conspiracy to cheat,” Reliance Power said in its statement.

It added that Pal resigned to “assist in the ongoing investigation” and clarified that Anil D. Ambani has not been a board member of Reliance Power for over three and a half years and “is not concerned with this matter in any manner.”

ED raids and wider probe

The development follows ED raids conducted in July 2025 at more than 35 locations across Mumbai and Delhi as part of its money laundering probe under PMLA against the Reliance Group of Companies.

The searches were reportedly linked to an alleged ₹3,000 crore loan fraud involving Yes Bank and several Reliance entities.

Preliminary findings indicated that loans sanctioned between 2017 and 2019 were illegally diverted to shell and group companies, in violation of lending norms.

Officials also stated that SEBI has shared its findings with the ED in the related case involving Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL). They said RHFL’s corporate loans jumped dramatically from ₹3,742.60 crore in FY 2017–18 to ₹8,670.80 crore in FY 2018–19, raising red flags about “irregular approvals and process deviations.”

Who is Ashok Kumar Pal?

As per company records, Ashok Kumar Pal is a Chartered Accountant with over 25 years of experience in finance and management.

He has been with Reliance Power for around eight years, having joined as Deputy General Manager before rising to CFO and Executive Director roles.

Officials said Pal’s tenure coincides with the period during which the alleged money laundering activities are believed to have taken place.