ED arrests Pune builder from Mumbai hotel in bank loan fraud case

Mumbai, Aug 25 (PTI) The ED has arrested the director of a Pune-based real estate company from a five-star hotel in Mumbai along with Rs 9.5 lakh in cash and gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs 2.3 crore in a bank loan fraud case.

Amit Ashok Thepade was taken into custody on Sunday from the hotel in south Mumbai, where he had been staying for the past two months.

A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court has sent him to ED custody for five days, the federal probe agency said in a statement on Monday.

The agency said Thepade, who had been "evading the authorities for a considerable period", was traced to the hotel following "extensive" surveillance and forensic financial analysis.

Thepade is being probed in a Rs 117.06 crore loan fraud case involving the Canara Bank.

The money laundering case stems from a CBI FIR filed against two companies named Galaxy Constructions and Contractors Pvt Ltd (GCCPL) and Mitsom Enterprises Pvt Ltd (MEPL).

Both the companies are "owned and controlled" by Thepade and had availed credit facilities from Canara Bank by mortgaging some immovable properties, according to the ED.

The agency said search conducted at the hotel premises led to the recovery and freezing of more than 50 bank accounts, seizure of Rs 9.5 lakh in cash, bullion, gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs 2.33 crore, two vehicles, and digital devices "suspected" to contain "crucial" evidence of financial transactions.

The ED alleged that probe found that the accused conspired to "defraud" the bank by mortgaging properties that had already been sold or by "double-mortgaging" the same properties, thereby securing loans and subsequently siphoning off the funds for personal use.

"Thepade played a pivotal role in creating a complex financial network for layering and integrating illicit funds derived from criminal activities," the ED said. PTI NES KVK KVK