Gaya: A team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday morning conducted searches at around half a dozen locations in Gaya and Bodh Gaya in connection with an alleged bank loan fraud and money laundering case involving a hotel, its director and his two sons.The agency is probing the alleged diversion of loan funds and transactions linked to properties associated with the hotel group. The ED investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR and chargesheet filed by the CBI.The ED team conducted searches at locations in Amar Bigha village in Bodh Gaya and Durga Bari and Shahmir Takiya localities in Gaya town.According to ED sources, a consortium of banks led by the Central Bank of India had sanctioned a loan of around Rs85 crore to the hotel, of which around Rs58 crore was allegedly diverted and used for other purposes. The company allegedly obtained a project completion report from a chartered accountant containing fabricated details to secure the loan, the sources said.Several properties linked to the hotel group had been mortgaged with a vehicle company, but five of these properties were allegedly sold at lower prices. The ED is also investigating whether the purchasers were merely name-lenders or proxies allegedly linked to its director, sources said.
