ED files chargesheet against ex-RCOM executive Punit Garg in ₹40,000 crore bank loan fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday (March 27, 2026) filed a chargesheet against former Reliance Communications president Punit Garg and another person as part of its money laundering probe into an alleged ₹40,000 crore bank loan fraud case, official sources said.

The chargesheet was filed before a special court at Rouse Avenue under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). It names Mr. Garg and Vaishali Jairam Mane, a former director at U.S.-based Bonn Investment Inc, as the accused in the case, sources told PTI.

The ED arrested Mr. Garg, 61, in January this year. The former Reliance Communications (RCOM) president, while holding senior managerial and directorial positions in the company from 2001 to 2025, was actively involved in the acquisition, possession, concealment, layering and dissipation of proceeds of crime generated from the said bank fraud, the ED had claimed.

The alleged laundered funds were “diverted” through multiple foreign subsidiaries and offshore entities of RCOM, it alleged. As the president of RCOM, the agency said, Mr. Garg handled the global enterprise business of the company between 2006 and 2013. He also served as president (regulatory affairs) from 2014 to 2017. In October 2017, Garg was appointed executive director at RCOM, and from April 2019 till April 2025, he served as a non-executive director of the company, according to the ED.

Proceeds used to buy Manhattan flat

It was found that the proceeds of crime generated from the alleged fraud were “diverted” to purchase a luxury condominium apartment in Manhattan, New York. Ms. Mane has been named in the chargesheet as she was allegedly linked to the purchase of this Manhattan apartment.

The property was “fraudulently” sold in 2023 during a corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) of RCOM by Mr. Garg, the ED said. It is understood that RCOM informed the stock exchange about this “fraudulent” sale in 2025.

“The sale proceeds of $8.3 million (about ₹69.55 crore in 2023) were remitted from the U.S. under the guise of a sham investment arrangement with a Dubai-based entity controlled by a Pakistan-linked individual, without the knowledge or consent of the resolution professional (RP),” the agency said.

Public money diverted

A part of the proceeds of crime – public money taken by RCOM as bank loans – was “diverted” for Mr. Garg’s personal expenses, including overseas education-related payments for his children, the agency claimed.

In December 2025, the ED had filed a chargesheet against Anil Ambani’s group company, Reliance Power Ltd, and 10 others, in a money laundering case linked to the issuance of an alleged fake bank guarantee of ₹68 crore for securing a tender.

The Central probe agency has constituted a special investigation team to probe the alleged financial irregularities conducted by Anil Ambani’s group companies at the direction of the Supreme Court.