The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has rejected Reliance ADAG Group chairman Anil Ambani's request to appear virtually for questioning after he failed to appear in person at the agency's Delhi office on Friday for a second round of interrogation. Ambani was summoned to appear on November 14, but he did not present himself.

According to ED officials, the agency will not permit a virtual appearance, even after receiving an email from Ambani expressing his willingness to join the proceedings online. Sources indicate that the ED's decision is due to the nature of the inquiry and procedural requirements under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

Earlier in the day, Ambani's spokesperson issued a statement saying that the businessman had offered to appear before the ED through "virtual means," assuring full cooperation in the probe being conducted under FEMA. He clarified that the summons pertained to a FEMA inquiry from 2010, not an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Ambani explained that the inquiry concerns a domestic EPC contract from 2010 for the Jaipur–Reengus Toll Road and involves issues with a road contractor, with "no foreign exchange component whatsoever". He also noted that he is no longer on the board of Reliance Infrastructure, having served only as a non-executive director from 2007 to 2022 without involvement in daily operations.

The ED's investigation pertains to the Jaipur-Reengus Highway Project, where the agency suspects that funds worth approximately ₹100 crore were sent abroad via the hawala route. The ED has recorded statements from various individuals, including alleged hawala dealers, which led to Ambani's summons. Hawala refers to the illegal movement of funds, primarily in cash.

Ambani has been previously questioned by the ED in a money laundering case linked to an alleged ₹17,000 crore bank fraud against his group companies.

In his statement, Ambani emphasized that the FEMA case is 15 years old, dating back to 2010, and concerns issues associated with a road contractor. He stated that Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. awarded an EPC contract for the construction of the JR Toll Road (Jaipur-Ringus Highway) in 2010. According to the statement, this was a purely domestic contract with no foreign exchange component. The JR Toll Road has been fully completed and has been with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for over four years, since 2021.