A Delhi court on Friday dismissed the bail application of Ambience group promoter Raj Singh Gehlot in a money laundering case linked to an alleged bank loan fraud of Rs 800 crore.
Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana said bail cannot be granted as a matter of routine.
"Considering the nature of allegations, intricate nature of investigation and the possibility of the accused attempting to influence the course of investigation, I am of the considered opinion that the instant bail application is bereft of any merits and the same is accordingly dismissed," the judge said.
Mr Gehlot was arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED had raided Mr Gehlot, his company Aman Hospitality Private Limited (AHPL), some other firms of the Ambience group, director in the company Dayanand Singh, Mohan Singh Gehlot and their associates in July last year.
The ED case against Mr Gehlot, who is also a promoter of the Ambience Mall in Gurugram, is based on a 2019 FIR of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Jammu against AHPL and its directors for alleged money laundering in the construction and development of the five-star Leela Ambience Convention Hotel located near Yamuna Sports Complex in Delhi.
The ED claimed that its probe found that a huge part of the loan amount of more than Rs 800 crore, which was sanctioned by a consortium of banks for the hotel project, was siphoned off by AHPL, Raj Singh Gehlot and his associates through a web of companies owned and controlled by them.
"A substantial part of the loan money was transferred by AHPL to several companies and individuals on the pretext of payment of running bills and advance for supply of material and work executed," the agency had alleged.
The employees of the Ambience group and Mr Gehlot's associates were made directors and proprietors in these companies and Gehlot was the "authorised signatory" in many of these entities, it had said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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