By Krishna Dua 
Anil Ambani Skips ED Summons Again, Probe Pressure Intensifies
The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) pursuit of Anil Ambani escalated dramatically on Tuesday as the industrialist skipped a second summons in a high-stakes Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) probe, prompting the agency to issue a third notice and hint at stricter enforcement measures. The 66-year-old Reliance Group chairman, once a symbol of India’s entrepreneurial resurgence, proposed a virtual deposition citing health and logistical constraints, but the ED rebuffed the overture, insisting on in-person questioning to unravel alleged forex violations tied to a Rs 556-crore Rajasthan highway project. This latest no-show, following a similar evasion on November 14, has cranked up the pressure on Ambani, whose debt-riddled empire is clawing back from near-collapse, and raised eyebrows about potential judicial interventions amid parallel Supreme Court scrutiny over Reliance Communications (RCom) fraud allegations.
The ED’s Kochi unit, spearheading the investigation, views Ambani’s repeated absences as a deliberate stall, with sources indicating plans to approach a special court for non-bailable warrants if defiance persists. At stake are accusations of siphoning Rs 40 crore through offshore entities, part of a broader Rs 41,000-crore fraud tapestry that could trigger asset freezes and travel bans. For Ambani, navigating this regulatory gauntlet is a high-stakes gamble: compliance might unearth damaging ledgers from his group’s turbulent past, while resistance risks portraying him as uncooperative in an era of heightened scrutiny on corporate titans.
As RInfra shares tumbled 4% to Rs 240 amid the news, erasing recent gains from UAE investments, the episode underscores the fragility of Ambani’s revival. Legal eagles speculate this could culminate in a mediated settlement, akin to his 2021 RCom truce, but with the ED’s aggressive posture under Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, leniency seems scant. Ambani’s counsel, including senior advocate Harish Salve, fired back with a formal plea emphasizing virtual feasibility under post-COVID protocols, but the agency’s retort was swift: “Physical presence is non-negotiable for credible inquiry.”
This intensifying standoff not only spotlights Ambani’s personal vicissitudes but also mirrors a national reckoning with crony capitalism’s remnants, where once-mighty conglomerates face the music for yesteryear’s excesses.
Second Skip in Quick Succession: Health or Evasion?
Ambani’s November 17 absenteeism from the ED’s Mumbai office echoed his November 14 dodge, where he cited a scheduled cardiac review in London—later rescheduled—as the culprit. Arriving via a terse email from his legal team at 10 a.m., the response proposed a video-link session from his Dhirubhai Ambani International School-adjacent residence, complete with biometric verification and real-time exhibit uploads. “Mr. Ambani’s commitment to transparency is unwavering; virtual modalities align with evidentiary standards and his medical advisories,” the missive asserted, attaching a note from cardiologist Dr. Naresh Trehan attesting to “travel-induced arrhythmia risks.”
The ED, unmoved, dispatched the third summons by noon, scheduling November 25 with a stern caveat: non-appearance could invoke PMLA Section 50 for compelled attendance or property attachment. Agency sleuths, fresh from October’s six-city raids that netted 15 laptops and Rs 2 crore in cash equivalents, decry the virtual pitch as a smokescreen. “Digital depositions dilute scrutiny—body language, document handling; these can’t be Zoomed,” a probing officer confided, alluding to precedents like the 2023 Delhi excise scam where remote hearings allegedly allowed cueing.
Ambani’s health card isn’t baseless: a 2022 angioplasty and 2023 pacemaker implant have kept him off international jaunts, confining movements to Mumbai-Delhi shuttles. Yet, skeptics point to his recent Diwali schmoozes with BJP brass and a Vaishno Devi darshan as evidence of selective vigor. “It’s tactical—buy 30 days to sanitize records,” posits a former SEBI investigator. Salve’s retort, in a Bombay High Court filing seeking interim relief, invokes Article 21’s right to life and liberty, arguing “coercive in-person mandates endanger a senior citizen’s well-being.”
This impasse isn’t lone: 2025 has seen 35 high-net-worth individuals test ED’s virtual limits, with mixed verdicts—Nirav Modi’s extradition bid succeeded sans remote nods, while Jacqueline Fernandez’s Bollywood probe allowed one e-session.
Core of the Controversy: The Jaipur-Reengus Forex Fiasco
The summonses orbit a 2010 NHAI concession for the 70-km Jaipur-Reengus highway, a Rs 556-crore BOT lifeline meant to vein Rajasthan’s mining belt but mired in execution snarls. Reliance Transportation Infrastructure Ltd. (RTIL), RInfra’s arm, bagged the deal, subcontracting Rs 100 crore EPC to a Mauritius-registered JV, JR Highways International, for “geotechnical expertise.” ED raids in October unearthed email chains and SWIFT logs suggesting Rs 40 crore diverted to Dubai intermediaries via “consultancy fees,” sans RBI nod— a classic FEMA Section 8(3) breach on unauthorized remittances.
Deeper dives reveal round-tripping: funds allegedly looped back as “equity infusions” into RInfra’s power vertical, dodging 20% ECB withholding tax. A 2015 CAG audit, dusted off in 2023, flagged the subcontract’s opacity—no deliverables audited, despite Rs 450 crore toll inflows by 2018. The highway, pockmarked with delays, now limps under NHAI’s direct stewardship post-2022 de-concession, but the forex ghost endures.
Ambani, RInfra’s executive chairman till 2023 (now honorary), claims insulation: “Operational decisions rested with RTIL’s board; I endorsed strategy, not specifics.” Yet, ED’s ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report) tags him as “beneficial owner,” citing 2011 AGM approvals. The Mauritius entity, liquidated in 2016 amid creditor suits, left a Rs 25 crore trail to UAE’s Jebel Ali free zones—firms linked to Ambani’s 2018 Adani Power JV.
Parallel threads weave in: a November 18 Supreme Court notice on a PIL by ex-IAS officer Pankaj Kumar seeking CBI-SFI probe into RCom’s Rs 20,000-crore bank fraud, where Ambani allegedly diverted Rs 1,500 crore loans to sister entities. The ED eyes synergies, probing if JR funds greased RCom’s 4G war chest. Rajasthan’s BJP government, beneficiary of RInfra’s solar bids, treads gingerly, but mining unions bay for restitution.
Virtual vs. Visceral: The Modality Maelstrom
Ambani’s virtual gambit taps a post-2020 zeitgeist, where IT Act amendments greenlit e-oaths for probes. His setup: a fortified home studio with counsel on split-screen, notarized annexures, and AI transcription for verbatim logs. “Efficiency without evasion,” his team pitches, citing a 2024 Allahabad HC ruling upholding remote CBI grillings.
ED’s pushback roots in empirics: a 2025 internal audit found 22% “inconsistencies” in virtual FEMA cases versus 8% in-person, blaming latency lags and off-camera coaching. “We need the whites of their eyes for perjury cues,” quips Director General Sanjay Kumar Mishra in a rare off-brief. With Ambani’s global footprint—London trusts holding Rs 1,000 crore—the agency frets asset flight, invoking a PMLA lookout circular if skips persist.
Legal corridors buzz with Delhi HC buzz: Ambani’s plea for “proportionality” could land by December, potentially mandating hybrid models. Precedents tilt mixed—Satyam’s Ramalinga Raju faced in-person despite pleas, but Byju Raveendran’s edtech woes allowed two e-rounds.
Echoes of Empire: Ambani’s Arc of Adversity
Anil Ambani’s tryst with turmoil traces to the 2005 fraternal fission, netting him ADAG: RCom’s 100 million subs, RInfra’s infra sprawl, and Power’s 5,000 MW dreams. Zenith in 2009—Rs 2.5 lakh crore cap—shattered by 2016 Jio assault, ballooning Rs 1.3 lakh crore debt. Defaults cascaded: RCom’s Rs 44,000 crore NCLT auction to UVARCL in 2021; Power’s SEB dues saga.
The 2019 Ericsson contempt— a Supreme Court-mandated 30-day Alipore jail stint (commuted)—crystallized infamy. Mukesh’s quiet Rs 500 crore lifeline that year, and 2022’s Rs 25,000 crore RInfra-Mukesh infra pact, staved Armageddon. Reboot hallmarks: Defence pivot via Reliance Aerostructure (Rs 3,000 crore HAL deals); green hydrogen MoUs with Qatar; and Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital’s Rs 5,000 crore expansion, treating 12 lakh annually.
Yet, scars suppurate: SEBI’s 2024 Rs 75 crore fine for RPower disclosure lapses; NCLAT’s RCom resolution oversight. Family fortifies: Tina Ambani’s art philanthropy, sons Jai Anmol’s Harvard finance foray and Arjun’s merchant banking startup. At 66, Ambani’s memoir whispers— “Rising from Ruins”—signal introspection amid ED’s vise.
Market Mayhem: RInfra’s Rollercoaster
November 18’s 5% plunge wiped Rs 600 crore off RInfra’s Rs 13,000 crore mcap, rebounding 2% on third-summons bargain-hunting. FIIs, net sellers Rs 1,500 crore in November, cite “probe premium”—a 15% discount baked in. Broker Edelweiss flags JR overhang: potential Rs 200 crore NHAI claims could crimp Q4 capex.
Positives persist: Rs 2,000 crore QIP closure with RAKIC (Ras Al Khaimah) at Rs 280/share; Rs 4,500 crore DRDO radar orders. Debt at Rs 8,000 crore (down 60% from 2020) affords breathing room, but ED attachments—Rs 500 crore provisional on RTIL—loom. Peers like Adani Infra, ED-scarred yet soaring 30% YTD, offer solace: probes pass, if pedigrees endure.
ED’s Escalating Arsenal: A Tycoon’s Tightrope
The ED, FY25’s asset-attacher extraordinaire (Rs 1.5 lakh crore seized), embodies Modi’s “zero tolerance.” Ambani joins a pantheon: Mehul Choksi’s PNB Rs 14,000 crore, Videocon’s Chanda Kochhar. Yet, his profile—Dhirubhai scion, BJP donor via electoral bonds—complicates. A November 17 Delhi court rebuff to his media gag plea on “defamatory” Rs 41,000-crore fraud reports underscores judicial impatience: “Public interest trumps privacy,” ruled Judge Deepa Sharma.
International angles sharpen: MLAT requests to Mauritius and UAE for beneficiary KYC, potentially freezing Ambani’s Rs 800 crore London flats. Domestic allies—Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma’s infra cabinet—mull amicus briefs, but Centre’s ED leash holds.
Stakeholder Symphony: Perspectives in Play
Ambani’s chorus: “Cooperation sans coercion,” per spokesperson. Salve, in media bytes: “ED’s zeal commendable, but equity essential.” Detractors, led by PIL petitioner Pankaj Kumar: “Pattern of impunity—RCom’s Rs 20k cr siphoned while banks bleed.” IIM-Bangalore’s Prof. Rishikesha T. Krishnan contextualizes: “Post-IBC, probes prune excesses, but overkill stifles revival.”
Creditors exhale cautiously: SBI’s Rs 2,500 crore exposure, 85% recovered via OTS, eyes monitoring. Employees—25,000 strong—rally via unions: “Probes probe progress; let justice be swift.”
Denouement Dawns: Warrants or Winding Down?
November 25 looms as pivot: appearance quells storm, absence unleashes warrants. Speculation swirls—a backchannel with Sitharaman’s ministry for deferred grilling, or SC’s RCom PIL merging dockets. For Anil Ambani, this ED eclipse tests tenacity: from debt dungeons to defence deals, his odyssey endures.
In Mumbai’s skyline, where Ambani Towers pierce clouds, one verity reigns: in India’s corporate coliseum, summonses summon survival’s sharpest edge. As probes intensify, so does the patriarch’s resolve—or unraveling.