ED raids dairy companies, directors; seizes Rs 60 lakh

TTD GHEE ADULTERATION CASE

metro india news  I hyderabad

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches at 15 places, including Dehradun, Delhi, Dindigul in Tamil Nadu, Guntur in Andhra Pradesh and Mumbai in connection with the alleged TTD Ghee adulteration fraud case.

The searches covered the residential and office premises of directors of A R Dairy Food Pvt Ltd in Dindigul, Malganga Milk & Agro Products Pvt. Ltd., Ahilyanagar and Bhole Baba Organic Dairy Milk Pvt Ltd., in Roorkee, an official release from the central investigating agency said.

During the search operations, cash amounting to Rs 60 lakh was seized. The raids also led to disclosures regarding investments of Proceeds of Crime (PoC) in properties valued at more than Rs 45 crore, apart from details of several immovable properties held in the names of the accused persons and their family members.

The ED initiated an investigation under the PMLA, 2002, based on an FIR registered against A R Dairy Food and others. It is alleged that the accused persons, in conspiracy with certain Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams officials, committed criminal breach of trust, cheating, and caused wrongful loss to the temple body by supplying adulterated ghee.

The investigation conducted so far revealed that the Proceeds of Crime generated through the supply of adulterated ghee to TTD were subsequently invested in immovable properties through a complex web of interconnected legal entities and business concerns to conceal the illicit origin of funds, it added.

Earlier this year, the SIT, which investigated the case, filed the final charge sheet in Nellore ACB Court, naming 36 people as accused, including nine TTD officials, five dairy experts and others in the ghee adulteration case.

The SIT in its charge sheet, said the investigation revealed that during April 2019, a panel was constituted with the approval of then Executive Officer of TTD, including officials and external dairy experts to revise, add certain conditions in the ghee tenders.

The relaxation of certain conditions in the ghee procurement tendering process paved the way for the participation of dairies without procuring milk and newly established dairies without required experience and reputation, ultimately compromising the quality of ghee procured by TTD for the preparation of Laddu Prasadams, the SIT alleged in its charge sheet.