The ED seized ₹54.82 crore from Reliance Infrastructure for allegedly diverting funds from NHAI highway projects. Money was funneled through shell corporations and transmitted abroad via hawala networks, causing project stress and non-performing assets for lenders.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized assets worth Rs 54.82 crore from Reliance Infrastructure Limited (R-Infra) under Section 37A of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), marking a significant step forward in its investigation into alleged fund diversion related to highway development projects.

According to the agency, a Special Task Force based at its headquarters carried out the seizure after freezing 13 bank accounts owned by the company. The case comes from suspected violations of FEMA Section 4, which prohibits improper foreign exchange transactions.

The ED’s inquiry revealed that public funds allocated for National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) projects were allegedly siphoned off via a network of Special Purpose Vehicles controlled by R-Infra. Officials said the diversion was disguised as money for subcontracting work, but it was actually transferred to Mumbai-based shell businesses. The investigation discovered that these firms were set up with dummy directors and shown no legitimate commercial activity.

The funds were put into these shell firms and then passed through multiple fronts before being remitted to the UAE. The remittances were presented as payments for importing polished and unpolished diamonds. However, no documents or physical consignments were ever discovered, implying that the transactions were only a cover for illegal external transfers.

The ED further noted that the UAE-based beneficiaries had bank accounts in both the UAE and Hong Kong, and were related to individuals operating unlawful international hawala networks. The shell businesses involved in the layering process have been related to hawala transactions worth over ₹600 crore.

Investigators believe the suspected diversion put several R-Infra-related project SPVs under financial strain. As financial flows dried up, bank loans related to these projects reportedly fell into the non-performing asset (NPA) category, resulting in losses for lenders and raising worries about systemic risks to public funds.

The government is anticipated to broaden its investigation to uncover the recipients, operatives, and other compliance breaches that permitted the alleged transactions.