ED raids hotel group in Bihar, Haryana, Delhi over Rs 131-crore loan fraud

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday carried out searches at multiple locations in Bihar, Haryana and Delhi in connection with a money laundering investigation into an alleged bank loan fraud involving Gaya-based Ramnandi Hotels and Resorts, officials said.

The action was taken against the company, its director Akhouri Gopal, and his sons Nishant and Nitesh. Officials said the case arose from a CBI FIR and chargesheet, which estimated the alleged proceeds of crime at Rs 131.79 crore.

According to officials, nine premises in Gaya, Gurugram and Delhi were searched under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The agency alleged that the hotel group diverted Rs 58 crore out of the Rs 85 crore disbursed by a consortium of banks led by the Central Bank of India, using fake or forged project completion reports provided by its chartered accountant.

The ED said personal guarantees of Akhouri Gopal and his family members had also been given to the banks against the loans. Officials further said five properties had been mortgaged with a vehicle company against outstanding dues of a related group entity.

However, the agency found that these properties were recently sold despite being mortgaged, and at what it described as a "grossly undervalued" price. "Few of the buyers are learnt to be persons of humble means and incapable of affording such sum of money, and are suspected to be benamis or proxies of Akhouri Gopal," an officer said.

Officials said the sale of these assets was aimed at transferring the properties so that they could not be attached under the anti-money laundering law, as the ED continued its searches in the case. - EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 11, 2026 11:04 IST