Vacation Judge Vandana Jain remanded former Reliance Group MD Sateesh Seth to ED custody for 6 days until June 19, 2026, after a three-hour hearing. As per Business Standard, the court directed that custodial interrogation is required to identify the beneficiaries of proceeds of crime and to unearth the entire trail of money. The remand order was passed after midnight following the ED's request for 13 days custody to interrogate Seth. The court permitted the provision of a diet as prescribed by the doctor and directed that in case of any emergency, he be rushed to the hospital. Seth was produced before the judge on the night of June 13 after being brought to Delhi in transit remand from Mumbai.
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday arrested Satish Seth, a former Director of M/s Reliance Telecom Ltd, in connection with alleged bank fraud and money laundering. According to PTI, Seth has previously served as Vice Chairman of M/s Reliance Infrastructure and was arrested by ED in Mumbai. Transit remand has been granted for 48 hours, and he will be produced in Delhi court for further custody. The arrest comes as part of the ongoing investigation into the Reliance group's financial irregularities. The ED produced Seth before the judge and sought a remand of 13 days to interrogate him, with the court granting 6 days custody after hearing the submissions.
The ED has arrested Seth in an alleged money laundering case based on the allegations of syphoning of funds abroad through Hawala Channels by creating fictitious bills against overrated diamond imports. As per Business Standard, the ED investigation under PMLA identified RIL as the primary beneficiary of a large-scale financial fraud involving systematic syphoning of public funds from two road construction projects awarded by NHAI. The investigation revealed that RIL syphoned ₹92 crores abroad through a premeditated scheme involving fictitious sub-contracting arrangements, layered through a network of shell entities. An estimated total of approximately ₹100 crores was syphoned in this manner through various shell companies including M/s Geet Exim Pvt. Ltd. (GEPL), Vibha Impex Pvt. Ltd. (VIPL), and Pahal Impex Pvt. Ltd. (PIPL).
According to Business Standard, in the Jaipur Project, RIL awarded the construction contract to M/s Prakash Asphalting and Toll Highways (PATH) for ₹315 crores. RIL made advance payments of ₹39.2 crores to PATH in September 2010 under an undated amendment to the construction agreement, which was a sham agreement as its stamp papers were purchased in October 2010. PATH further transferred ₹38 crore to GEPL, a shell entity whose bank details were furnished to PATH by the Secretary to Sudhir Hoshing at RIL. Similarly, in the Trichy-Karur Project, RIL's SPV engaged M/s Utility Energy Tech and Engineers Pvt. Ltd (UEEPL) as EPC contractor, which received ₹50.96 crores from UEEPL, out of which ₹40.56 crores were transferred to PIPL without any agreement or actual work having been executed.
Advocate S S Boparai appeared for Sateesh Seth and opposed the remand application on the ground that the arrest is illegal as it is in blatant violation of Sections 19 (1) and 19 (2) of PMLA. According to Business Standard, Seth's counsel argued that the ED has failed to establish that the accused/arrestee is guilty of committing an offence, which is a primary requirement under Section 19 (1) to arrest an accused. Seth had attended 3 summons in the connected FEMA case in 2025 and had also appeared before the Investigating Officer of ED on May 4, 2026 in Delhi. Seth's medical condition is very severe; he is 70 years old, and his medical documents clearly show that he requires urgent medical supervision, his counsel argued for immediate release.
