Hyderabad: Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) Hyderabad zonal office has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 130 crore as part of its money laundering investigation into the alleged supply of adulterated ghee to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).The agency alleged that fictitious dairy transactions and hawala channels were used to conceal the manufacture and supply of ghee produced by blending palm-based oils with chemicals.The movable and immovable assets belong to Bhole Baba Oroganic Dairymilk Pvt Ltd and Sri Vyshnavi Dairy Specialities Pvt Ltd, their promoters Vipin Jain and Pomil Jain and their family members; Sukriti Foods Pvt Ltd, its promoter Kailash Chand Mangla and his family members; and other related entities and individuals.With the latest action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the total value of assets attached, seized or frozen in the case has reached Rs 132.5 crore.According to ED, Bhole Baba supplied adulterated ghee worth Rs 234.5 crore to TTD, both directly and through front dairies that allegedly participated in tenders in their own names for a commissions.The agency alleged that the adulterated ghee was manufactured at the factories of Bhole Baba and Sukriti Foods by blending refined palm oil, palm kernel oil and palmolein with monoglycerides, acetic acid ester, lactic acid and beta-carotene. These products were allegedly invoiced as edible oils to conceal their actual use.To disguise the transactions, the palm oil consumed in the manufacturing process was shown in records as having been sold to bogus buyers. Fictitious purchases of milk and ghee, along with sales of by-products such as skimmed milk, were also recorded to create the appearance of genuine dairy operations, the ED said.The agency further alleged that bank payments made for fictitious purchases were returned in cash through hawala channels. This cash was then used to fund bogus palm-oil buyers, pay commissions to the front dairies and make payments to others allegedly connected with the fraud.The money laundering investigation stems from an FIR registered by Tirupati East police, which alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and corruption.The agency investigating the predicate offences subsequently filed a chargesheet and a supplementary chargesheet before the special judge for SPE and ACB cases in Nellore. The filings alleged that adulterated ghee supplied for the preparation of Lord Venkateswara’s laddu prasadam defrauded TTD, endangered public health and generated unlawful gains.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 alleged conspirators, front dairies, chemical suppliers and accommodation-entry providers. During the searches, the agency seized or froze cash and bank balances worth Rs 2.7 crore.The ED also arrested Vipin Jain and Kailash Chand Mangla, promoters and directors of Bhole Baba and Sukriti Foods, respectively. The agency alleged that they orchestrated the manufacture and fraudulent supply of the adulterated ghee.
