ED arrests Suumaya promoter; Dentsu staff link continues to be under scanner

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Ushik Gala, promoter of the Suumaya Group, in a money laundering probe linked to an alleged Rs 137.05 crore dry ration scam that was pitched to investors under a purported “Need to Feed” programme. Gala was arrested on November 17 and has been remanded to ED custody till November 24. 

The agency said it initiated the probe based on an FIR registered by Worli Police and later taken over by the EOW, which names Dentsu Communications India Pvt Ltd, Suumaya Industries Ltd and their promoters, among others, for allegedly conspiring to siphon funds on the promise of future benefits from the so-called programme. 

In its arrest note, the ED has placed the main money trail with Suumaya and Gala, while alleging that “the Suumaya group and some employees of Dentsu India” helped concoct a bogus Haryana government contract under the “Need to Feed” banner to raise trade financing and project non-existent business as genuine turnover. 

The ED claims that funds received by Suumaya group entities were diverted by Gala to dummy agro-trader firms in Delhi and Haryana through an agent, supported by fake invoices and lorry receipts, even though no actual agro procurement took place. The money was allegedly routed back to Gala through cash and banking entries from shell entities. 

The agency further alleges that Suumaya created circular transactions worth about Rs 5,000 crore, of which roughly 10 per cent were genuine, inflating turnover of involved entities, including Dentsu India. It said Suumaya’s turnover was artificially boosted from around Rs 210 crore to Rs 6,700 crore in two years, fuelling a sharp surge in share prices and misleading investors. 

Searches in the case were earlier conducted at 19 locations across Mumbai, Delhi and Gurgaon, during which the ED seized movable assets and financial and digital records that, it said, evidence laundering and diversion of funds. The investigation is continuing. 

According to the ED’s remand application cited in Hindustan Times, the EOW charge sheet alleges Gala acted in collusion with a Dentsu employee and other associates who used fabricated documents and staged events to induce trade financing for the non-existent ration supply scheme, leading to the complainant’s loss. 

While Dentsu Communications India remains an accused entity in the FIR and the ED has flagged the alleged role of certain employees, the current arrest and the ED’s description of the laundering structure indicate that Suumaya and its promoter are at the centre of the case at this stage, with the agency continuing to probe the extent of Dentsu’s corporate and individual liabilities.