ED arrests bizman from hideout in 5-star hotel in ₹117-cr bank fraud case

The accused had allegedly defrauded the public sector bank by availing of loans and mortgaging properties that had either been sold or already mortgaged. The loans were acquired via two of his firms and subsequently diverted for personal use, said ED officials

MUMBAI: The Mumbai zonal unit of the enforcement directorate (ED) on Sunday arrested businessman Amit Thepade as part of its money-laundering probe related to an alleged ₹117.06-crore fraud in Canara Bank. The accused had allegedly defrauded the public sector bank by availing of loans and mortgaging properties that had either been sold or already mortgaged. The loans were acquired via two of his firms and subsequently diverted for personal use, said ED officials.

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Thepade, who had allegedly been evading the authorities for some time, was arrested after intelligence inputs led the ED to a five-star hotel in South Mumbai where he had been staying for the past two months. Searches conducted at the hotel premises led to the freezing of more than 50 bank accounts, seizure of cash of ₹9.5 lakh, bullion, gold and diamond jewellery worth ₹2.33 crore, two vehicles and digital devices suspected to contain crucial evidence related to financial transactions.

The financial details seized in the operation are being scrutinised by the ED for their possible evidentiary value, officials said. A city-based special court has remanded Thepade to ED custody for five days.

The ED investigation is based on two cases registered in December 2022 by the Central Bureau of Investigation, Pune, against the accused’s firms, Galaxy Constructions and Contractors Private Limited and Mitsom Enterprises Private Limited. The companies, owned and controlled by Thepade, had allegedly availed of credit facilities from Canara Bank by mortgaging various immovable properties.

“The ED investigation revealed that the accused had 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,” an agency official said. The investigation further revealed that Thepade allegedly played a pivotal role in creating a complex financial network for spreading and integrating the illicit funds.

Thepade’s arrest was preceded by the ED’s extensive surveillance and forensic financial analysis, revealing multiple transactions aimed at concealing the true origin of the proceeds of crime, the loan funds, and attempting to pass them off as legitimate assets, said ED officials.