The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Sandeep Gupta, a former promoter and suspended managing director of Richa Industries Limited (RIL), and taken him into custody for eight days for questioning.
The accused was produced before a court in Gurugram, which sent him to ED remand. The case is based on a First Information Report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation alleging cheating and criminal conspiracy by the accused for causing losses to the tune of ₹236 crore to public sector lending banks between 2015 and 2018.
According to the ED, Richa Industries had systematically recorded fictitious sales without any actual supply of goods, including cotton fabric sales of ₹7.42 crore, and fabricated solar-related sales of ₹8.50 crore to multiple shell companies operated by various entry operators.
“The invoices and ledger entries for these transactions were found to be forged and manipulated, with outstanding balances and inter-division transfers used to conceal non-receipt of payments. These actions resulted in artificial inflation of turnover and deliberate misrepresentation of the company’s financial position to mislead lenders and other stakeholders,” it said.
Richa Industries allegedly booked bogus purchases of Zero Liquid Discharge plants and machinery worth ₹9.23 crore from a non-operational entity whose business profile, Goods and Services Tax details and Harmonised System of Nomenclature codes were entirely inconsistent with such supplies.
The agency further alleged that between 2015-16 and 2017-18, about ₹16.40 crore was siphoned off to group entities under the guise of loan repayments. In 2018-19, company funds were used to acquire a controlling interest in Richa Krishna Constructions Private Limited, diverting a valuable Rohtak project during the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP). During the same period, shares of Richa Infrastructure were transferred at a “gross undervaluation”, causing financial losses to RIL.
It is alleged that Mr. Gupta played a major role in diverting the assets of the corporate debtor just before the commencement of the CIRP. He also floated a number of shell concerns that were used for diversion of assets. An entity named Saariga Constructions Private Limited (SCPL) was set up using a former employee of Richa Industries.
“Through coordinated efforts, SCPL is said to have fraudulently secured voting rights in the Committee of Creditors (CoC), enabling the Gupta family to obstruct and influence the CIRP in their favour…during the insolvency period, Sandeep Gupta and his family purportedly retained unlawful control over RIL’s operations, entered into agreements, and drew remuneration in clear violation of statutory norms…,” the agency said, citing other alleged violations.
The CIRP failed to result in an approved resolution plan, leading the National Company Law Tribunal to order liquidation on June 11, 2025, and appoint a liquidator. Subsequently, an e-auction was conducted on October 16, 2025, at a reserve price of ₹96 crore, with a consortium of Kaveri Industries and Narendra Kumar Srivastava emerging as the successful bidder.
“In the process, public sector banks, namely IOB and Union Bank, received ₹40.29 crore against admitted claims of ₹696 crore, resulting in an approximate 94% haircut,” it said.
