Indian tycoon Anil Ambani’s US$410 million building seized in billion-dollar fraud probe

Indian investigators have seized a US$410 million luxury condominium building owned by Anil Ambani as part of a widening investigation into alleged bank fraud by the tycoon.The Enforcement Directorate, India’s anti-money-laundering agency, said on Wednesday that it had provisionally taken Ambani’s 17-storey property, known as “Abode,” in the upscale Pali Hill neighbourhood.The agency alleged Ambani had defaulted on over 400 billion rupees (US$4.4 billion) worth of loans from Indian and foreign banks.Ambani runs Reliance Group and is the younger brother of Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man. The two split the empire after their father’s death in 2002.Anil Ambani’s 17-storey luxury property is in the upscale Pali Hill neighbourhood. Photo: X/PratibhaGoyalThe 66-year-old has faced financial distress for years, defaulting on bank loans and other debt since at least 2016. Most recently, his name surfaced in documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, which showed that he had met the disgraced financier on several occasions to discuss business, politics and women.The federal agency said the home was transferred into a private family trust in a restructuring designed to “shield it” from Ambani’s personal liabilities, mainly claims tied to guarantees he had given to bankers for company loans.