Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Friday presented a charge-sheet against six accused, including the Managing Director of Aman Hospitality Private Limited (AHPL) and two ex-Managers of JKB Ansal Plaza Branch, New Delhi, in Rs 270 Cr J&K Bank loan fraud case.
The charge-sheet was filed by the Anti Corruption Bureau in the concerned court in Srinagar u/s 120-B, 409, 420 RPC and section 5(1)(c), 5(1)(d) r/w 5(2) of the JK PC Act against Raj Singh Gehlot Managing Director of M/s AHPL and the co-accused Mohan Singh, Sheela Gehlot and Madhu Bakshi and the former Managers of J&K Bank Ansal Plaza Branch, New Delhi Rakesh Kumar Kharyal and Kuldeep Gupta.
The firms M/s Ambience Limited, NGR Consultant Private Limited and Raj Commercial & Agencies also figured in the charge-sheet.
An ACB spokesperson said that an FIR No. 15/2019 dated 24.07.2019 was registered at the Police Station ACB Srinagar on the basis of a source information which was the outcome of a verification conducted into the allegations of financial irregularities in the loans availed by M/s Aman Hospitality Private Limited, New Delhi from the Ansal Plaza Branch of the J&K Bank New Delhi.
“It was alleged that the officers of J&K Bank Ansal Plaza Branch had given loan worth crores of rupees to this firm and in connivance with the said firm the loan amounts so sanctioned were declared as NPA to facilitate the firm to have a One Time Settlement (OTS) to its advantage,” said the spokesperson.
The firm had apparently availed loans for the construction of a five star hotel in Delhi with a project cost estimated Rs 866.89 Cr to tune of Rs 227 Cr as Term Loan along with a bank guarantee of Rs 15 Cr.
“The rest of the loans were availed from other banks by the firm as part of consortium loan for construction of the five-star hotel. The firm had pledged mortgaged land including the building of five star hotel and rentals, which would accrue on the commercial area (which was proposed to be leased out), hypothecation of all other current assets and personal guarantee of Raj Singh Gehlot who was the Managing Director of M/s AHPL, worth Rs. 41 crores favouring a consortium of banks including J&K Bank as the lead bank as part of mortgaged properties,” the ACB spokesperson informed.
However, while looking into the allegations mentioned in the FIR investigation revealed that instead of using the loans sanctioned for the purpose of construction of the hotel it was diverted, siphoned out for various other purposes and misappropriated by the borrower Raj Singh Gehlot, he added. “Investigation has established that out of the Rs 100 Cr sanctioned as Term Loan in the first phase to M/s AHPL, an amount of Rs 35 Cr has been diverted by Raj Singh Gehlot Managing Director M/s AHPL, in connivance with the Bank officials and other co-accused and through fictitious firms, which were created for the said purpose and also by layering the funds through other banks in a complex maze of transactions,” the spokesperson said.
In this manner, they cheated the J&K Bank Ansal Plaza Branch to the tune of Rs 35 Cr. Further investigation into the remaining diversions was in progress apart from the allegations of illegally entering into an OTS to the firm advantage by J&K Bank officials, the spokesperson added.