ED attaches Rs 129.85 cr in ghee adulteration case

metro india news  I amaravati : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs 129.85 crore belonging to Bhole Baba Organic Dairy Milk Private Limited, Sri Vyshnavi Dairy Specialities Private Limited, their promoters Vipin Jain and Pomil Jain, their family members and other associated entities, intensifying the money-laundering investigation into the alleged adulteration of ghee supplied to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) for preparing the sacred Lord Venkateswara Laddu Prasadam.

The Hyderabad Zonal Unit of the ED has also attached properties linked to Sukriti Foods Private Limited, its promoter Kailash Chand Mangla, his family members and other individuals and entities allegedly connected to the fraud. The latest action, taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, takes the total value of attachments, seizures and frozen assets in the case to ₹132.55 crore, according to an official ED statement.

The latest development marks a significant escalation in the financial investigation into a controversy that has drawn intense public, political and religious attention, given the sanctity of the Tirumala temple’s laddu prasadam and the allegations concerning the quality of ingredients used in its preparation.

Two alleged conspiracies to supply adulterated ghee. The ED initiated its investigation following an FIR registered at Tirupati East police station, which alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and corruption in the fraudulent supply of adulterated ghee to TTD.

The investigating agency subsequently filed a charge sheet and a supplementary charge sheet before the Special Judge for SPE and ACB Cases in Nellore. According to the ED, the underlying investigation disclosed two major criminal conspiracies allegedly designed to supply adulterated ghee to TTD, cheat the temple administration, endanger public health and generate substantial unlawful proceeds.

The controversy acquired wider significance because the ghee was intended for the preparation of laddu prasadam distributed to devotees visiting the hill shrine. Allegations of adulteration consequently raised questions about procurement procedures, quality-control mechanisms and the verification of suppliers entrusted with providing essential ingredients to one of India’s most prominent Hindu temples.

According to the ED’s findings, adulterated ghee worth approximately Rs 234.5 crore was allegedly supplied to TTD by Bhole Baba Organic Dairy Milk, directly and through intermediary dairies that participated in procurement tenders in their own names for commissions.

The agency alleges that the ghee was manufactured at facilities belonging to Bhole Baba and Sukriti Foods by blending refined palm oil, palm kernel oil and palmolein with chemical additives, including monoglycerides, acetic acid ester, lactic acid and beta-carotene, instead of producing genuine dairy ghee. The products were allegedly invoiced as edible oil.

Investigators found that financial records were manipulated to conceal the process. Palm oil was shown as sold to bogus buyers, while fictitious purchases of milk and ghee and artificial sales of dairy by-products, including skimmed milk, were recorded to project legitimate dairy operations.

The ED also uncovered an alleged mechanism to route and conceal the proceeds. Payments made through banks against fictitious purchases were reportedly returned in cash through hawala networks. The cash was allegedly used to finance bogus palm-oil buyers, pay commissions to intermediary dairies and compensate others connected with the operation.

The transactions form a key part of the money-laundering probe into how funds generated through the alleged supply fraud were circulated, concealed and deployed.

Searches and arrests precede latest attachment

On June 3, 2026, the ED conducted searches at 16 premises across Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Delhi, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. The locations were linked to the alleged principal conspirators, intermediary dairies, chemical suppliers and entities suspected of providing accommodation entries. The searches resulted in the seizure or freezing of cash and bank balances worth Rs 2.7 crore.

The agency has also arrested Vipin Jain, promoter and director of Bhole Baba Organic Dairy Milk Private Limited, and Kailash Chand Mangla, promoter and director of Sukriti Foods Private Limited. The ED alleges that they orchestrated the manufacture of adulterated ghee and its fraudulent supply to TTD.

With the latest provisional attachment of Rs 129.85 crore, the agency has expanded the financial scope of its investigation, bringing the cumulative value of attached, seized and frozen assets to Rs 132.55 crore. The investigation remains in progress as the ED continues to trace the alleged proceeds of crime, identify other beneficiaries and examine the financial networks associated with the suspected fraud. The case now extends beyond the alleged adulteration of a product intended for religious use to questions of procurement integrity, corporate accountability and the alleged use of complex financial transactions to conceal illicit gains.