The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested the wanted accused Amit Ashok Thepde from a five-star hotel in South Mumbai in connection with a ₹177 crore bank fraud case linked to Canara Bank. The arrest was made under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, following an intelligence-based raid on August 24.
Luxury Hideout Exposed
According to ED officials, Amit Thepde had been staying at the five-star hotel for the past two months, evading law enforcement. During the raid, officials seized ₹9.5 lakh cash, gold and diamond jewellery worth ₹2.33 crore, two vehicles, and multiple digital devices. Authorities also froze more than 50 bank accounts linked to him, suspected of containing crucial evidence of financial transactions.
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The Special PMLA Court has granted ED five days’ custody of the accused for interrogation.
Web of Deceit and Financial Fraud
The probe revealed that Thepde, through his companies, Galaxy Constructions and Contractors Pvt. Ltd. (GCCPL) and Mitsum Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. (MEPL), fraudulently secured loans from Canara Bank. The firms allegedly mortgaged already-sold properties or used the same assets multiple times as collateral to obtain credit facilities.
Investigators allege that the accused siphoned funds for personal gains, diverting them through a complex financial network designed to disguise illicit proceeds as legitimate assets. Forensic financial analysis uncovered multiple suspicious transactions aimed at concealing the true origin of the money. The ED’s case is based on two FIRs filed by the CBI and ACB, Pune, against GCCPL and MEPL. Officials confirmed that Amit Thepde played a “key role” in layering and integrating the proceeds of crime.
The investigation into the money laundering trail and other possible beneficiaries is ongoing.
