Reliance Energy Fake Bank Guarantee Case: Delhi Court Extends Custody Of Ashok Kumar Pal By 3 Days

Patiala House Court

The Patiala House Court in Delhi on Monday extended the ED custody of Ashok Kumar Pal, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director of Reliance Power Limited, till October 16 in connection with a money laundering case linked to a fake bank guarantee and forged invoicing scandal.

Special Judge Kiran Gupta passed the order after Pal was produced before the court at the end of his two-day ED custody. The court has also kept pending Pal’s application challenging his arrest, which will be heard on October 16.

During the hearing, Special Counsel Zoheb Hossain and Special Public Prosecutors Naveen Kumar Matta and Simon Benjamin, along with Mohd. Faizan, appeared for the ED. Advocate Vijay Agarwal, representing Pal, opposed the custody extension and termed his client’s arrest “illegal.”

Agarwal argued that the ED had arrested Pal without prior court permission, despite already having filed a complaint in the case. He moved an application seeking a declaration that the arrest was unlawful.

Earlier, on Saturday, the court had granted the ED two days’ custody of Pal and directed that his interrogation take place at a CCTV-monitored location. The court also allowed Pal to meet his advocate daily for 30 minutes (6–7 pm) in private and instructed the ED to provide necessary medicines as per his prescriptions.

ED Alleges Forged Guarantee & Fund Diversion

According to the ED, Pal was arrested late Friday night after hours of questioning at the agency’s Delhi office. Investigators allege he played a key role in diverting company funds and submitting forged financial documents while serving as RPL’s CFO.

The probe pertains to a fraudulent bank guarantee of over ₹68 crore submitted to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) tender. Officials said Pal, empowered by a board resolution, was responsible for finalising and executing documents for the SECI bid and allegedly conspired to submit a fake bank guarantee to cheat the PSU.

Fake Bank Guarantee & Forged Invoices

The ED found that the bogus guarantee was purportedly issued in the name of FirstRand Bank, Manila, Philippines—a location where the bank has no operational branch. The document was allegedly arranged through Biswal Tradelink Pvt. Ltd. (BTPL), a small firm operating from a residential address. BTPL’s director, Partha Sarathi Biswal, already in judicial custody, is accused of helping execute the forgery.

Investigators further claim that Pal approved fake transport invoices worth several crores to divert funds. He allegedly handled payments and documentation through Telegram and WhatsApp, bypassing Reliance Power’s official accounting and vendor systems.

Wider Racket Using Spoofed Bank Domains

The ED’s probe also uncovered a fake bank guarantee racket using spoofed email domains mimicking major Indian banks, such as “s-bi.co.in” instead of “sbi.co.in.” Similar fraudulent domains were reportedly used to impersonate Indian Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Punjab National Bank.

Officials said Pal’s alleged actions are part of a larger criminal conspiracy involving forged financial instruments and fraudulent communication channels to deceive public institutions and misappropriate funds from a listed company.

The matter will be heard next on October 16.