The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached four floors of Hotel One Continental in Hyderabad, valued at Rs 43.84 crore, in connection with a bank loan fraud case involving Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC). The alleged fraud against the bank amounts to Rs 6117.93 crore.
Under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the ED has attached the immovable properties, comprising the second, third, fourth, and fifth floors of Hotel One Continent located on King Koti Road in Hyderabad.
The ED initiated the probe based on a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the bank against Joy Thomas, Waryam Singh, directors of PMC Bank, and others under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. Allegedly, the promoters of Housing Development & Infrastructure Pvt Ltd (HDIL), Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan, and his son Sarang Wadhawan, were involved in the fraud.
During the investigation, it was revealed that HDIL Group had fraudulently siphoned off loan funds while concealing the transactions from PMC Bank. They allegedly transferred Rs 43.84 crore to entities in Hyderabad between 2006 and 2014, disguising the transactions as legitimate business activities.
Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan were arrested in October 2019 in a money laundering case and are currently in judicial custody. The ED has so far attached assets worth Rs 719.11 crore under anti-money laundering laws.
The investigation into the case is ongoing.
