CBI books Gurugram's Ambience Mall owner for defrauding J&K Bank

The Central Bureau of Investigation has booked Raj Singh Gehlot, owner of Gurgaon’s Ambience Mall, on charges of defrauding Jammu & Kashmir Bank of more than Rs 287 crore, a month after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on charges of money laundering. Besides Gehlot, two other directors of Aman Hospitality and unnamed bank officials have also been booked by the CBI on Thursday.

The ED had last year launched a money-laundering probe on the basis of an FIR registered by the Jammu Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) against Aman Hospitality and its directors for allegedly diverting loans taken for construction and development of the five-star Leela Ambience Convention Hotel near the Yamuna Sports Complex in East Delhi.

The FIR registered by the CBI is also on the basis of the FIR registered by the ACB. Out of the total loan amount of Rs 810 crore received by the company, Rs 781 crore was routed through an escrow account maintained with J&K Bank’s Ansal Plaza branch in New Delhi, the ED had told a local court in on July 30, seeking Gehlot's custodial interrogation. Out of this, “as much as Rs 443 crore was transferred to 21 entities and Rs 49 crore to four individuals … (who) were not connected with the hotel project in any manner,” the ED had alleged.