Research was carried out in the offices of the AHPL and other companies in the Ambience group.
New Delhi:
The Law Enforcement Department raided seven premises of a Delhi-based real estate agent on Friday in a money laundering case against him and his company for alleged fraud on a bank loan of Rs 800 crore and irregularities in the construction of a five star hotel.
Searches were carried out of the offices of Aman Hospitality Pvt Ltd (AHPL) and other companies in the Ambience group, as well as the residences of its directors Raj Singh Gehlot, Dayanand Singh, Mohan Singh Gehlot and their associates, a indicated the ED in a press release.
Cash, including foreign currency, worth Rs 40 lakh was “seized at the residence of Raj Singh Gehlot”, he said. “Several incriminating documents and digital evidence were also seized during the search.”
The case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act is based on an FIR from the Jammu Anti-Corruption Bureau last year against the AHPL and its directors for money laundering regarding construction and development of Leela Ambience Convention Hotel on Maharaj Surajmal Road in Delhi, ED says.
An investigation revealed that “a large part” of a loan of over Rs 800 crore, which had been sanctioned by a consortium of banks for the project, had been siphoned off by the AHPL, Raj Singh Gehlot and his associates via a “network of businesses owned and controlled by them,” the agency said.
“A substantial part of the loan money was transferred by AHPL to several companies and individuals under the pretext of paying the current invoices and the advance for the supply of material / and the executed works,” he said.
Ambience Group employees and Raj Singh Gehlot’s associates were appointed as directors and owners of these companies and he was the “signing officer” of many of these companies, according to the ED.
The investigation revealed that “no material was provided and no work was performed and almost the entire amount was immediately returned to the entities owned by Raj Singh and Sons HUF (Hindu Undivided Family) and the son of his brother, “said the ED.
“The money has still been diverted through several layers in a complex web of group entities,” he added.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
