Vacation Judge Rashmi Gupta ordered Seth’s custody until July 2 after the Enforcement Directorate said it had completed his custodial interrogation. The remand followed an earlier six-day ED custody granted by the Dwarka court on June 14, when investigators sought time to examine the money trail, identify alleged beneficiaries and confront him with documents gathered during the probe.
Seth, a former senior executive associated with Reliance group entities, is being investigated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The case centres on allegations that funds were routed through shell companies and informal transfer networks, with investigators examining whether proceeds of crime were moved through hawala channels and disguised as legitimate transactions. The court allowed him to carry spectacles in judicial custody and directed that medical requirements be addressed as per prison rules.
The ED’s case against Seth is linked to an enforcement case information report arising from a police FIR registered in February last year. The underlying offences cited in the case include cheating, forgery, criminal breach of trust, use of forged documents and criminal conspiracy. Investigators allege that financial transactions tied to the case were structured to obscure origin, ownership and end-use of funds.
The agency has been examining transactions connected with Reliance Infrastructure and associated entities, including alleged fund diversion, overvaluation of imports and movement of money through companies with limited business substance. Seth has denied wrongdoing through legal submissions, while the court at the custodial remand stage noted the need to examine the alleged trail rather than decide the merits of the prosecution’s claims.
The case forms part of a wider scrutiny of companies connected with the Anil Ambani-led group. Enforcement investigators have been probing allegations involving bank loans, suspected evergreening, related-party transactions and possible routing of funds through entities described by investigators as shell or conduit companies. Separate proceedings have also examined transactions involving Reliance Communications and other group-linked businesses.
Gautam Bhailal Doshi, another former senior executive connected with the group, was arrested in a related money-laundering probe last week. While Seth’s case is linked to Reliance Infrastructure and others, Doshi’s case has been connected with Reliance Communications and related entities. The two arrests marked an escalation in a probe that has moved from searches and summons to custodial questioning of former top executives.
The ED has alleged that large sums borrowed from banks were diverted from their stated purposes and moved through complex layers. Earlier action in the broader case included searches across multiple locations and attachment of properties connected with group entities. Investigators have also examined loans given by YES Bank between 2017 and 2019 to companies linked to the group, with allegations that part of the money was siphoned off or routed through intermediary companies.
The Reliance group has previously denied allegations of wrongdoing and has maintained that it has cooperated with agencies. Several group companies have undergone debt resolution, insolvency proceedings or restructuring since the collapse of Reliance Communications’ telecom business. The broader financial stress across these entities has kept lenders, regulators and enforcement agencies focused on whether lending decisions, fund movements and related-party dealings complied with law.
Seth’s move from ED custody to judicial custody changes the immediate legal posture of the case. Investigators no longer have him in their direct custody for interrogation, but they may seek further permission from the court if fresh custodial questioning is required. His legal team can also move for bail, where the court will examine the ED’s material, the statutory requirements of the PMLA and the defence contention on custody, cooperation and health.
