Blow for Anil Ambani as ED seizes Mumbai home over money laundering case

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken major action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Reports indicate that the ED has seized Anil Ambani's Mumbai residence, "Abode." The seized residence is estimated to be worth ₹3,716 crore. According to the ED, the total attachment proceedings against Anil Ambani and his group of companies have exceeded ₹15,000 crore. On February 23, the Bombay High Court, in a setback for industrialist Anil Ambani, set aside a single-judge bench order that had stayed the freezing of his and Reliance Communications Limited's bank accounts as "fraudulent."

What did  the Bombay High Court say?

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam A. Ankhad passed this order on a petition filed by Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, and auditor BDO India LLP. The bench vacated the "perverse" and "illegal" interim order and rejected Ambani's request to stay the proceedings.

The bench said, "As we have already heard that the interim order dated December 24, 2025, is illegal and the process is flawed, the request for a stay on the operation of this order for the next few weeks would amount to continuing the illegal order and perpetuating illegal activities. Therefore, Anil Ambani's request for a stay on the operation of this order is rejected."

What is the case against Anil Ambani?

In December 2025, while the case against Anil Ambani was pending, a single-judge bench of Justice Milind N. Jadhav granted him temporary relief. This order stayed all actions by the three banks and prevented them from proceeding with the show-cause notice and fraud order, forcing him to appeal before a two-judge bench.

According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines on fraud classification and reporting by commercial banks and certain financial institutions, banks can classify an account as fraudulent.