Delhi court grants ED 2-day custody of Reliance Power CFO Ashok Pal over alleged fake guarantees, forged invoices, and fund diversion conspiracy.
Reliance Power CFO Ashok Kumar Pal in ED custody over allegations of fake bank guarantees and fund diversion in SECI tender case (Photo: File)
SAO PAULO: Delhi court has granted the ED 2-day custody of Ashok Kumar Pal, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director of Reliance Power Limited, in connection with a probe into alleged fake bank guarantees and forged invoicing linked to fund diversion.
Special Judge Kiran Gupta granted the ED custody till Monday, directing that Pal be produced before the Patiala House Court then. The agency produced Pal at the judge’s residence on Saturday night, with Advocate Vijay Agarwal appearing on his behalf.
ED Arrests Reliance Power CFO Over Fund Diversion Allegations
Pal was arrested late Friday night after several hours of questioning at the ED’s Delhi office. According to officials, he allegedly played a “crucial role” in diverting company funds and submitting forged financial documents while serving as the CFO of Reliance Power, a publicly listed company in which the public holds over 75% of the shares.
The case pertains to a fraudulent bank guarantee of over Rs 68 crore submitted to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) tender.
Fake Bank Guarantee Linked To Bogus Entity
Investigators said Pal, empowered by a board resolution to finalise and execute documents for the SECI bid, allegedly conspired to submit a fake bank guarantee with the intent to cheat the PSU.
The bogus guarantee was purportedly issued in the name of “FirstRand Bank, Manila, Philippines” — a location where the bank has no operational branch, the ED said.
The guarantee was reportedly arranged through Biswal Tradelink Pvt Ltd (BTPL), a small entity operating from a residential address with no credible background in providing financial instruments. Partha Sarathi Biswal, director of BTPL and already in judicial custody, is alleged to have helped execute the forged document.
According to the ED, Pal also approved fake transport invoices worth several crores to enable fund diversion. He allegedly cleared payments and managed official paperwork via Telegram and WhatsApp, bypassing Reliance Power’s official SAP and vendor management systems.
Officials further alleged that Pal used services from 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 domains were reportedly used to mimic Indian Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Punjab National Bank.
The ED suspects Pal’s actions form part of a broader criminal conspiracy involving forged instruments and fake communication channels aimed at deceiving public sector institutions and misappropriating funds from a listed company.
