MUMBAI: The ED has taken into custody the director of a Pune-based real estate firm from a five-star hotel in Mumbai, along with Rs 9.5 lakh in cash and gold and diamond jewelry valued at Rs 2.3 crore in connection with a bank loan fraud investigation.
Amit Ashok Thepade was arrested on Sunday at the luxury hotel in south Mumbai, where he had been residing for the past two months.
According to the federal agency, a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court has remanded him to ED custody for five days.
The ED reported that Thepade, who had been “eluding authorities for an extended period,” was located at the hotel following “intensive” monitoring and forensic financial scrutiny.
The investigation pertains to a loan fraud case of Rs 117.06 crore involving Canara Bank.
The money laundering allegations are based on a CBI FIR against two firms, Galaxy Constructions and Contractors Pvt Ltd (GCCPL) and Mitsom Enterprises Pvt Ltd (MEPL).
These companies are reportedly “owned and controlled” by Thepade and had secured loans from Canara Bank by mortgaging certain immovable properties, according to the ED.
During a search of the hotel, the agency seized over 50 bank accounts, Rs 9.5 lakh in cash, bullion, gold and diamond jewelry worth Rs 2.33 crore, two vehicles, and electronic devices believed to contain “key” financial evidence.
The ED alleged that Thepade conspired to “defraud” the bank by mortgaging properties that were already sold or by “double-mortgaging” them, enabling him to acquire loans and subsequently diverting the funds for personal use.
“Thepade was instrumental in developing a complex financial structure for layering and integrating illicit funds sourced from criminal activities,” the ED stated.
