Delhi: Patiala House Court remands Ashok Kumar Pal to judicial custody in Reliance Energy fake bank guarantee case

New Delhi [India], October 16 (ANI): Delhi's Patiala House Court on Thursday remanded Ashok Kumar Pal, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Executive Director of Reliance Power Limited (RPL), to judicial custody in connection with the alleged fake bank guarantee and money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Pal was produced before Special Judge Kiran Gupta after the conclusion of his three-day ED custody. The court remanded him to judicial custody till October 29. His application challenging the legality of his arrest is listed for a hearing on October 18.
The ED had arrested Pal in the alleged Rs 68 crore fake bank guarantee case linked to a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) tender floated by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). According to the ED, the accused played a "crucial role" in the alleged diversion of company funds and submission of forged documents while acting on behalf of RPL.
During Thursday's proceedings, ED was represented by Special Counsel Zoheb Hossain, Special Public Prosecutors Naveen Kumar Matta and Simon Benjamin, and Advocate Pranjal Tripathi.
Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, appearing for Pal, opposed the extension of custody and termed his arrest "illegal".
The defence argued that Pal's arrest was made without seeking prior court permission, as mandated in cases where the complaint has already been filed before the court.
The ED had earlier obtained Pal's custody on October 11, with the court directing that he be interrogated at a location with CCTV surveillance. His custody was subsequently extended on October 13.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Ashok Kumar Pal, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Reliance Power Limited (RPL), in connection with a fake bank guarantee and forged invoicing case linked to alleged fund diversion.
ED Officials had said Pal was taken into custody late on Friday night after several hours of questioning at the agency's Delhi office.
Officials had said Pal was empowered by a board resolution to finalise, approve, and execute documents on behalf of RPL for the SECI bid. In this capacity, he allegedly conspired to submit a fake bank guarantee with the intention of cheating the PSU.
The ED's probe revealed that the bogus guarantee was issued in the name of "FirstRand Bank, Manila, Philippines -- a location where the bank has no operational branch."
"The guarantee was arranged through Biswal Tradelink Pvt. Ltd (BTPL), a small entity operating from a residential address with no credible record in providing such guarantees. BTPL director Partha Sarathi Biswal, already in judicial custody, is alleged to have assisted in executing the forged document," said the officials.
Investigators had further alleged that Pal approved fake transport invoices worth several crores to facilitate the diversion of funds. He reportedly cleared payments and managed paperwork through Telegram and WhatsApp -- bypassing Reliance Power's official SAP and vendor master systems.
The ED also found that Pal used the services of a fake bank guarantee racket operating through spoofed email domains resembling those of major Indian banks, such as "s-bi.co.in" instead of the genuine "sbi.co.in". Similar lookalike domains were used to impersonate other banks, including Indian Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Punjab National Bank.
Officials said Pal's actions form part of a broader criminal conspiracy involving forged instruments and fraudulent communication channels aimed at deceiving public institutions and misappropriating funds from a listed company. (ANI)