The Kolkata zonal office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Pratyush Kumar Sureka, a 40-year-old Kolkata resident, in connection with a Rs2,672 crore bank fraud involving Shree Ganesh Jewellery House (I) Ltd (SGJHIL).
Sureka was taken into custody on 16th January under Section 19(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and remanded to four days of ED custody by a special PMLA court.
The case relates to an alleged fraud committed against a consortium of 25 banks by SGJHIL and its promoters. The ED launched its probe based on an FIR registered by the CBI’s bank fraud and financial securities wing in Kolkata.
Investigations revealed that around FY 2011–12, SGJHIL diverted bank loans meant for its jewellery business into solar power projects via Alex Astral Power Pvt Ltd and related entities. Sureka, appointed as Joint Managing Director of Alex Astral Power in April 2012, allegedly facilitated these transactions.
ED alleges that a solar power project worth Rs400 crore—comprising Rs120 crore equity and Rs280 crore bank loans—was fraudulently transferred for less than Rs20 crore through sham investment agreements involving entities controlled by Sureka. These related-party transactions were structured to hide the asset’s true value, causing significant losses to creditor banks.
Sureka is said to have been actively involved in the operation and management of the solar project. Investigators claim that assets worth several hundred crores were moved through circular transactions, bogus documentation, dummy directors, and complex corporate structures to conceal ownership.
Electronic evidence reportedly showed that Nilesh Parekh, promoter of SGJHIL, continued receiving cash generated from the solar assets long after the fraudulent transfers. Statements from company employees, along with forensic analysis, allegedly revealed large-scale record fabrication, including backdated agreements, misuse of digital signatures, and sham board resolutions.
Funds were reportedly siphoned through bogus loans, circular transactions, and shell companies controlled by Sureka and his family, projecting proceeds of crime as legitimate.
Sureka failed to cooperate with the investigation and attempted to flee the country. On 5th January 2026, he was intercepted at Kolkata airport while trying to fly to Thailand, following the issuance of a Look-Out Circular (LOC).
Citing risk of evidence destruction, witness intimidation, flight risk, and continued dissipation of assets, the ED arrested Sureka under the PMLA.
