Taking action in a Rs 236 crore loan fraud case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Sandeep Gupta, a suspended official of a Gurugram-based company, for alleged cheating involving fictitious sales and misrepresentation to facilitate money laundering. Gupta, the ex-promoter and suspended managing director of Richa Industries, was apprehended under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, on January 20, 2026. He was subsequently presented before the Special Court (PMLA), Gurugram, which remanded him to eight days of ED custody.
The ED’s investigation stemmed from a CBI FIR that accused Gupta and others of criminal conspiracy, cheating, and criminal misconduct, leading to wrongful gains for themselves and substantial losses amounting to Rs 236 crore for public sector banks between 2015 and 2018. It was discovered that Richa Industries had allegedly fabricated sales records, including transactions with shell companies, to artificially inflate turnover and deceive lenders and stakeholders. The company was found to have recorded fictitious sales without actual goods supply, utilizing forged invoices and ledger entries to conceal non-payment receipts.
Further scrutiny revealed that Richa Industries had purportedly made bogus purchases of ZLD plant and machinery worth Rs 9.23 crore from a non-operational entity, with funds being diverted through related party transactions amounting to Rs 16.40 crore between FY 2015-16 and FY 2017-18. Gupta was allegedly involved in diverting corporate assets before insolvency proceedings, utilizing shell companies for asset diversion at different intervals, according to the ED’s findings.
