ED alleges hawala trail in ₹234.5-crore Tirupati laddu ghee case
What Happened
The Enforcement Directorate alleges that companies supplied ₹234.5 crore worth of adulterated ghee to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, directly and through front dairies, for making laddu prasadam. The agency claims payments for fictitious purchases were routed through banks and returned in cash through hawala channels. It has provisionally attached assets worth ₹129.85 crore under the PMLA.
Key Takeaways
According to the ED, refined palm oil and other oils were allegedly blended with chemicals and passed off as ghee, while bogus purchases and sales were recorded to make the businesses appear like genuine dairy operations. The agency alleges hawala cash was then used to fund purported bogus buyers, commissions to front dairies and other payments connected with the alleged fraud. These remain ED allegations in an ongoing money-laundering probe.