The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted searches at premises linked to billionaire Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta group as part of its probe into alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), officials said.
They added that searches at certain premises of the group, including Delhi and Mumbai, began on Monday and continued on Tuesday. The agency did not disclose the specific allegations or details of the raids, but officials familiar with the matter said the action was taken under the civil provisions of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which regulates foreign exchange and cross-border transactions.
“An example of Vedanta Resources, the parent company of London-based Indian company Vedanta Ltd., which returned part of the brand royalties to the latter (Vedanta Ltd.) in 2023 is under scrutiny. “We are looking at some other structures of the group as well,” said an official in the directorate, requesting anonymity.
ED’s action against the conglomerate comes a month after the company’s board of directors received approval from its creditors for a mega merger plan to split it into four independent companies.
“We are fully cooperating with the authorities and providing all required information. The company remains committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations. As the matter is currently undergoing a regulatory process, we are unable to comment further at this stage,” a Vedanta spokesperson said in a statement.
