Sateesh Seth sent to judicial custody in hawala-linked money laundering case

A Delhi court sent former Reliance Anil Ambani Group executive Sateesh Seth to judicial custody till July 2 in a hawala-linked money laundering case. The order follows the ED's custodial interrogation as investigators probe alleged fund diversion through shell companies and overvalued diamond imports.

In Short

• ED says fictitious bills backed allegedly overvalued diamond imports for transfers abroad
• Investigators linked the case to syphoned funds from two NHAI projects
• Reliance Infrastructure was identified as the main beneficiary of alleged fraud

A Delhi court on Thursday remanded former Reliance Anil Ambani Group managing director Sateesh Seth to 14 days in judicial custody in a money laundering case linked to hawala money transfers. The court sent him to judicial custody till July 2 after the Enforcement Directorate completed his custodial interrogation.

Vacation Judge Rashmi Gupta also allowed Seth to carry his glasses and medicines in jail as per a doctor’s prescription. The court directed jail authorities to take an appropriate decision on his request for a bed in line with the jail manual.

Seth was produced before the court a day before the end of his six-day ED custody, which had been granted on June 14. The ED arrested him in a case arising from allegations that funds were siphoned abroad through hawala channels by creating fictitious bills against allegedly overvalued diamond imports.

According to the agency, its investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act identified Reliance Infrastructure Ltd as the main beneficiary of an alleged large-scale financial fraud involving the diversion of public funds from two National Highways Authority of India road projects — the Jaipur-Reengus toll road project and the Trichi-Karur toll road project. The ED alleged that Reliance Infra was among the corporate entities that used shell companies to transfer funds abroad and syphoned off about Rs 92 crore.

The ED registered an Enforcement Case Information Report on the basis of an FIR lodged by the Mumbai Police in February 2026. On June 14, the court had granted six days’ ED custody of Seth, saying that, given the nature of the allegations and his alleged role in the offence, his detailed and sustained interrogation was necessary for the investigation. With Thursday’s order, Seth has now been sent to judicial custody till July 2 in the case.

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