ED arrests absconding Pune businessman in Rs 117-crore bank loan fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested businessman Amit Ashok Thepade in a money laundering case linked to a Rs 117.06 crore bank fraud involving Canara Bank. He was tracked down at a five-star hotel in South Mumbai, where he had been staying for nearly two months, officials said.

Thepade was arrested on August 24 by the ED's Mumbai zonal office under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. A search of the hotel led to the freezing of more than 50 bank accounts and the seizure of Rs 9.5 lakh cash, gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs 2.33 crore, bullion, two vehicles, and several digital devices. The special PMLA court has remanded Thepade to ED custody for five days.

The probe stemmed from two FIRs by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Galaxy Constructions & Contractors Pvt Ltd and Mitsom Enterprises Pvt Ltd, companies owned by Thepade. According to officials, the firms secured loans from Canara Bank by mortgaging properties that were already sold or pledged multiple times, before siphoning off the money.

The ED said Thepade played a central role in setting up a layered financial network to launder the funds and disguise them as legitimate assets. His arrest followed surveillance and forensic analysis of transactions that revealed attempts to conceal the origin of the proceeds of crime.

Further investigation into the matter is underway.

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