BIG trouble for Anil Ambani, criminal charges against his Rs 14422 crore company over...

Trouble has mounted for Reliance Group chairman, Anil Ambani, as renewable energy agency SECI has sent a show cause notice to his Reliance Power. The agency has asked why criminal action should not be taken against Reliance Power and its arm for submitting fake bank guarantees. Last week on November 6, Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) barred Reliance Power and its arm Reliance NU BESS from participating in its tenders for three years for submitting "fake documents". Meanwhile, on Thursday, Reliance Power shares dropped 1.53 per cent to settle at Rs 36 on BSE.

Reliance Power's response

In a filing to exchanges, Reliance Power said that it has been "a victim of fraud, forgery and cheating conspiracy". "A criminal complaint in this regard has already been lodged with Economic Offence Wing of Delhi Police against the third party on October 16, 2024, basis on which First Information Report (FIR) has been registered on November 11, 2024. The matter is under investigation and due process of law will follow," it said.

What SECI said 

In a notice dated November 13, SECI said on account of submission of fake endorsement of a foreign Bank Guarantee (BG) as part of its bid submission, it was discovered that the said BG submitted by Reliance NU BESS Ltd. (known as Maharashtra Energy Generation Ltd. At the time of bid submission), was also fake.

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"The repeated submission of a fake Bank Guarantee (BG) along with its counterfeit endorsement has been deemed a deliberate act by the Bidder, intended to vitiate the tendering process and to secure the project capacity through fraudulent means," SECI said in the notice.

According to the notice, Reliance NU BESS had submitted a BG purportedly issued by the FirstRand Bank, through its branch supposed to be located in Manila City, Manila, the Philippines. Upon detailed investigation, it was confirmed by the Indian branch of the above Bank, that there does not exist any such branch of the bank in the Philippines, leading SECI to conclude that the BG submitted was a fake document.

(With inputs from PTI)