ED to freeze assets worth over Rs 35 crore in the Suumaya Group case

The Enforcement Directorate has moved to freeze assets worth Rs 35.22 crore in the Suumaya Group case, alleging that funds raised in the name of a ‘Need to Feed’ programme were siphoned off, laundered and used to artificially inflate turnover and stock prices.

In a press release dated January 14, 2025, the agency said the attached assets include bank balances, demat holdings, mutual fund investments and two immovable properties. The action stems from an ongoing investigation into the alleged embezzlement of Rs 137 crore, purportedly collected under the pretext of future benefits linked to a ‘Need to Feed Programme’.

According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, Dentsu Communications India had played a key role in alerting authorities during the Enforcement Directorate’s investigation into Suumaya Industries.

Whistleblower Dentsu's role. Read more here

The ED initiated its probe based on an FIR registered by Mumbai’s Worli Police Station against Suumaya Industries Ltd and its promoters under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. According to the agency, the accused allegedly conspired to defraud and misappropriate funds by promising advantages tied to the welfare programme, which were never delivered.

The investigation has revealed that the Suumaya Group and its associates allegedly floated a bogus Haryana government contract under the guise of the ‘Need to Feed’ programme to raise funds and facilitate trade financing. The ED claims these funds were then projected as legitimate business turnover.

Suumaya promoter arrested. Read earlier report

As per the agency, the funds received by Suumaya group entities were diverted by promoter Ushik Gala to Delhi and Haryana-based dummy agro trader entities through an agent. These entities were allegedly used to falsely depict genuine procurement activity. The ED stated that no actual agricultural purchases took place. Instead, the funds were routed back to Gala through a mix of cash transactions and RTGS transfers via shell entities.

The probe further alleges that Suumaya created fake invoices and lorry receipts to simulate large volumes of trade, resulting in circular transactions amounting to nearly Rs 5,000 crore. The ED claims that only about 10 percent of these transactions were genuine. These inflated circular trades, according to investigators, artificially boosted the group’s turnover and distorted the financials of its listed entities.

Data cited by the agency shows that Suumaya’s reported turnover jumped sharply from around Rs 210 crore in 2019–20 to approximately Rs 6,700 crore in 2021–22, marking an increase of over 3,000 percent within two years. During the same period, the share price of Suumaya Industries Ltd witnessed a steep surge, before correcting sharply thereafter, allegedly giving a misleading picture to investors.

Earlier, as part of the investigation, the ED had conducted search operations at 19 locations across Mumbai, Delhi and Gurugram, during which it seized movable assets worth Rs 3.9 crore and a large volume of financial and digital records. These documents, the agency said, contained evidence of money laundering and diversion of funds.

In a related development, the ED had arrested Ushik Gala, promoter of the Suumaya Group, on November 17, 2025, under Section 19 of the PMLA. The investigation in the case is ongoing.

The Dentsu link 

The inputs provided by the advertising network were understood to have helped investigators piece together aspects of the fund flow and commercial arrangements linked to the case.

Sources said the ongoing probe centres on complex and layered fund movements, with investigators alleging that Suumaya routed money through shell and associated entities. A key leg of the alleged transactions involved transfers to Veda Multicorp LLP, which then channelled funds back to Suumaya-linked companies, creating a circular flow aimed at disguising the origin and end-use of funds.

This is not the first instance where Dentsu flagged alleged irregularities within the advertising and allied sectors. The network had earlier emerged as a whistle-blower in the Competition Commission of India’s investigation into advertising agencies and the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), a probe that culminated in raids across five major ad agencies as well as the ISA office.