Delhi Court discharges Ambience Group Promoter in ED case

New Delhi: The Patiala House Court has discharged businessman Raj Singh Gehlot, promoter of the Ambience Group, in a money laundering case related to alleged bank loan fraud.
This case involved loans granted by a consortium of banks for the construction of the Ambience Hotel in Shahdara, Delhi.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had accused Gehlot of money laundering linked to these loans. However, the court found insufficient evidence to proceed with the charges and cleared him of the allegations.
The Additional Sessions Judge Chanderjit Singh, in an order passed recently, said the material produced by ED in the form of relied upon documents is not sufficient to show primafacie case u/s 3/4 of PMLA being made out against any of the accused persons in the present matter. Therefore, all the accused persons are discharged accordingly.
Raj Singh Gehlot, promoter of the Ambience Group, was arrested on July 28, 2021, in connection with the money laundering case related to alleged bank loan fraud.
Earlier, he was granted interim bail by a Delhi court on medical grounds, which had been extended multiple times. In April 2023, Gehlot was granted regular bail in the case.
Gehlot was represented by Advocates Tanveer Ahmed Mir, Shikhar Sharma, Vaibhav Suri, Kartik Venu, Saud khan, Fahad khan, Swati Khanna, Anusara, Imran and Yash Datt.
The accused was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) for allegedly committing bank fraud against the Jammu and Kashmir Bank Consortium.
According to financial probe agency, It had initiated an investigation under PMLA on the basis of an FIR registered by State ACB, Jammu, against Aman Hospitality Pvt Ltd (AHPL) and its Directors for money laundering in the construction and development of the 5-star 'Leela Ambience Convention Hotel' situated near the Yamuna Sports Complex in Delhi, the investigation agency said.
ED had earlier stated that investigation under PMLA revealed that a huge part of a 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 and Raj Singh Gehlot and his associates through a web of companies controlled by them.