Ahmedabad: The CID (Crime) has registered a case of cheating and criminal breach of trust against the directors and senior officials of Osia Hyper Retail Ltd for allegedly defrauding FMCG distributors of Rs 4.7 crore by procuring goods on credit, issuing cheques that were dishonoured, and failing to clear dues.The complaint was lodged by a 51-year-old businessman from the city, who runs an FMCG distribution company in Gandhinagar district. He alleged that his company alone is owed Rs 1.9 crore, including dues from another associated company, while 12 other distributors together are owed Rs 2.7 crore.According to the FIR, the complainant had been supplying consumer goods and food products to Osia Hyper Retail since 2014. Initially, payments were made in time, which helped build trust between the retailer and suppliers. The complainant stated that procurement executives and other officials regularly interacted with distributors and assured them of timely payments.The FIR alleges that after July 2025, payments stopped. The last payment of Rs 3 lakh was received through a cheque on July 28, 2025. When the complainant followed up, he was allegedly told by the procurement officer that the company’s director had arranged to compensate him by transferring a property instead of making cash payment.The complainant claimed he attended meetings with a company director and others in Jan and Feb this year, where he was allegedly assured that property worth Rs 3.5 crore would be transferred against pending dues of Rs 1.9 crore. However, no property was transferred despite repeated assurances.Police said the complainant later received 50 post-dated cheques of Rs 2 lakh each drawn on a Punjab National Bank account. A cheque deposited in May this year was returned due to insufficient funds. When he contacted a company official, he was allegedly told that cheques issued to several suppliers had similarly bounced.The FIR further alleges that the company sold goods supplied by distributors, diverted the proceeds and acquired properties in the names of the directors and their family members instead of clearing outstanding payments.The complaint names a director of the company, his wife and a procurement officer as the main accused. It also alleges that the directors have left India, though their current location is unknown. The CID (Crime) has registered the case and is investigating the role of the accused and other company officials in the alleged fraud.
