The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Amit Ashok Thepade, the key accused in the Rs117 crore Canara Bank fraud, after months on the run. He was apprehended on Sunday while staying discreetly at a five-star hotel in South Mumbai.
“Based on a tip-off, we laid a trap and arrested him at the hotel,” said an ED official. Thepade was presented before a court and remanded in ED custody for five days.
The ED’s case stems from two FIRs lodged by the CBI and Pune ACB against Thepade’s firms — Galaxy Constructions & Contractors Pvt Ltd (GCCPL) and Mitsom Enterprises Pvt Ltd (MEPL).
According to investigators, Thepade obtained massive loans from Canara Bank by fraudulently mortgaging properties that were already sold or pledged elsewhere. The bank ended up losing Rs117 crore as a result of these deceitful practices.
Further investigations revealed that the accused had misappropriated the loan amount for personal use, routed the money through multiple transactions, and attempted to project it as legitimate business income.
The ED uncovered a complex network of money laundering involving shell entities, bogus investments, and suspicious bank activity. In a major crackdown, the agency froze over 50 bank accounts, seized Rs9.5 lakh in cash, jewellery worth Rs2.33 crore, two vehicles, and digital devices containing key evidence.
Thepade’s arrest marks a significant development in the probe into one of Maharashtra’s major banking frauds in recent years. The ED continues to track additional assets and accomplices.
