(MENAFN- IANS) Hyderabad, Nov 25 (IANS) A city court has sentenced the owners of a bar and restaurant to rigorous imprisonment for five years in a money laundering case related to bank fraud.

The Court of Metropolitan Sessions Judge found L. Srinivas Goud guilty of the offence of money laundering under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years in the matter of a bank fraud case.

The Enforcement Director (ED) said in a statement on Tuesday that the Court also imposed a fine of Rs. 25,000 each on him and his firm, Mallika Inn Bar and Restaurant.

The court found Goud guilty of the offence of money laundering under Section 3, read with Section 4 of the PMLA.

ED's Hyderabad Zonal Office had filed a prosecution complaint against Mallika Inn Bar and Restaurant and Srinivas Goud on completion of investigation in a case of cheating wherein a loan was fraudulently availed by Srinivas Goud by forging documents and impersonation.

An impostor was made to impersonate his mother before the Federal Bank, and a loan was obtained by fabricating the title deed documents of his mother's property and by forging her signature.

The loan was obtained projecting the same as a housing loan and for renovation of the restaurant & bar, but the same was diverted for other purposes and misutilised, thereby generating Proceeds of Crime and causing loss of Rs 44.80 lakh to the bank, the ED said.

During the course of the trial, several witnesses were examined, and the department's arguments were concluded. However, the accused was intentionally avoiding appearance before the Court as a result of which, the Court issued non-bailable warrants against the accused on multiple occasions.

Despite several attempts, the accused could not be apprehended as he was not available at his known premises. With further efforts, it was learnt that he had shifted his residence.

Thereafter, based on electronic and human intelligence, a fresh address was identified, which was then checked and confirmed from court records. Thereafter, surveillance was maintained over a period of one week, and his presence at the new address was confirmed.

He was eventually found at the premises on October 27 and apprehended. He was produced before the court, which remanded him to judicial custody, which was extended from time to time.

Meanwhile, successive bail applications filed by him were rejected, as considering the antecedents of the accused, the Court did not find it fit to release him on bail.

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