Chandigarh: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen three bank accounts containing deposits of Rs 84 lakh and seized incriminating documents and digital devices in connection with a Rs 74.35 crore bank fraud case involving Polo Hotels. The searches were carried out on Monday at the offices and residences of the company’s directors in Chandigarh and Panchkula.
Polo Hotels is owned by Abhay Kumar Dahiya, his son Amardeep Dahiya, and Pankaj Dahiya. The trio was booked by the CBI in April 2023 on charges of cheating and fraud. However, the CBI court recently directed the investigating officer to verify the reported death of Amardeep Dahiya, while the remaining two directors continue to face trial. The CBI had filed a chargesheet against them in August last year, and legal proceedings are underway.
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The ED conducted the raids under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as part of its probe into allegations that Polo Hotels Ltd and its directors defrauded Indian Bank (formerly Allahabad Bank) of Rs 74.35 crore. The agency alleged that the company misappropriated funds with criminal intent, causing significant losses to the bank.
In addition to freezing bank accounts linked to the company and its directors, ED confirmed that movable assets worth Rs 82 lakh have also been frozen as part of the investigation.