Former Reliance Communications CEO Punit Garg. File Image | Photo credit: The Hindu
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday (March 27, 2026) charged former Reliance Communications president Punit Garg and another person in a money laundering probe in the alleged ₹40,000 crore bank loan fraud case, official sources said.
The charge was filed at the Rouse Avenue Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). His name is Mr. Garg and Vaishali Jairam Mane, former director of Bonn Investment Inc. based in the US, as accused in the case, sources told PTI.
The ED arrested Mr Garg, 61, in January this year. The former president of Reliance Communications (RCOM), while holding senior management and directorships in the company from 2001 to 2025, was actively involved in the acquisition, possession, concealment, layering and dissipation of proceeds of crime arising from the said bank frauds, the ED alleged.
The alleged laundered funds were “diverted” through several foreign subsidiaries and offshore entities of RCOM, it claimed. As president of RCOM, the agency said, Mr. Garg managed the company’s global corporate business from 2006 to 2013. He also served as president (regulatory affairs) from 2014 to 2017. In October 2017, Garg was appointed Chief Executive Officer of RCOM and served as Director of non-ED.exe from April 2019 to April 2019.
The proceeds were used to buy an apartment in Manhattan
The proceeds of crime from the alleged fraud were found to have been “diverted” to purchase a luxury apartment in Manhattan, New York. Ms. Mane was named in the indictment because she was allegedly connected to the purchase of this Manhattan apartment.
The property was “fraudulently” sold in 2023 during the company insolvency resolution process (CIRP) to RCOM by Mr Garg, the ED said. RCOM is understood to have notified the stock exchange of this “fraudulent” sale in 2025.
“Sales proceeds of $8.3 million (about ₹69.55 million in 2023) were remitted from the US under the guise of a bogus investment agreement with a Dubai-based entity controlled by a person linked to Pakistan, without the knowledge or consent of the Resolution Professional (RP),” the agency said.
Public money was diverted
Some of the proceeds of crime – public money taken by RCOM as bank loans – were “diverted” to Mr Garg’s personal expenses, including paying for his children’s education abroad, the agency claimed.
In December 2025, the ED filed charges against Anil Ambani’s group company, Reliance Power Ltd and 10 others, in a money laundering case linked to the alleged issuance of a fake bank guarantee of ₹68 crore to secure a tender.
The Central Investigation Agency has formed a special investigation team to probe the alleged financial irregularities run by Anil Ambani’s group companies on the directions of the Supreme Court.
Published – 27 March 2026 22:07 IST
