ED arrests company promoter for Rs 137 crore fraud

Mumbai, Nov 20 The ED’s Mumbai unit has arrested a company’s promoter who, along with others, embezzled Rs 137 crore using fake Haryana agro deals purportedly for the 'Need to Feed program' of an NGO.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Mumbai Zonal Office, arrested Ushik Gala, promoter of Suumaya Group of companies, under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The arrest took place on November 17 following a detailed investigation and analysis of evidence gathered during the ongoing probe in connection with the Suumaya Group. He has been remanded to ED custody till November 24.

The ED initiated an investigation based on an FIR registered by Worli Police Station, subsequently taken over by EOW Mumbai, against Dentsu Communications India Private Limited, Suumaya Industries Ltd. and its promoters and others, an official statement said.

They are accused of conspiring together and embezzling the funds to the tune of Rs 137 Crore under the guise of promising future 'Need to Feed program' advantages, said the statement.

The ED investigation further indicates that the Suumaya group and some employees of Dentsu India concocted a bogus Haryana government contract under the guise of the "Need to Feed" programme to obtain funds through trade financing, thereby converting and projecting non-existent business operations as genuine turnover.

The investigation shows that funds received by Suumaya group entities were diverted by Ushik Gala to Delhi- and Haryana-based dummy agro-trader entities through an agent to falsely depict genuine procurement.

No actual agro purchases occurred. Instead, the diverted funds were routed back to Ushik Gala through a combination of cash and RTGS entries from other shell entities.

Suumaya created fake invoices and lorry receipts to simulate large volumes of trade, resulting in circular transactions amounting to Rs 5,000 Crore, only about 10 per cent of which were genuine, the ED said.

These transactions were done in a circular pattern that led to an increase in turnover of the involved entities, including Dentsu India. These inflated transactions artificially boosted Suumaya's turnover (from Rs 210 crore to Rs 6,700 crore in two years) and caused its share price to soar astronomically, thereby giving a misleading picture to investors in its listed group entities, it said.

Earlier, the ED had conducted search operations at 19 locations in Mumbai, Delhi and Gurugram in this probe. During the searches, the ED seized movable assets and a large volume of financial and digital records, along with documents evidencing the offence of money laundering and diversion of funds, said the statement.

--IANS

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