Hyderabad: The Directorate of Enforcement has registered an ECIR in the Tirupati laddu adulteration case to begin the probe into allegations of money laundering.
The Central agency registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against the accused, sources said on Tuesday.
The ED launched the investigation based on the charge sheets filed by the CBI-led Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the case.
There are allegations of hawala-based transactions by the accused. The private dairy firms and intermediaries allegedly paid bribes through hawala channels to some officials of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) to influence ghee tenders and quality clearances.
The ED will investigate the money trail and the role of the hawala network in the entire case.
SIT filed the charge sheet in a court in Nellore district on January 23, 2026. It reportedly names 36 accused, including directors of dairy companies.
Shell companies were allegedly used for financial transactions, alleged to be worth Rs 250 crore.
The TTD officials were allegedly bribed to pass off mixtures of vegetable oils and chemicals as pure ghee.
The ED investigation began days after the Andhra Pradesh government announced a one-man committee to conduct a comprehensive examination of a report submitted by the SIT to initiate administrative action against the individuals concerned
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced on February 5 that the committee will identify lapses and fix responsibility.
Once the committee completes its review, the government will initiate appropriate action in accordance with the findings, he said.
The alleged adulteration occurred between 2019 and 2024 when the YSR Congress Party was in power.
After SIT filed its charge sheet, YSRCP claimed that the SIT had given a clean chit, as it made it clear that the ghee was not adulterated with animal fat as alleged by Chief Minister Naidu. Terming the adulteration as a grave offence against devotees’ faith, Chandrababu Naidu asserted that no report has given a clean chit to the YSRCP in the matter.
He also alleged that bathroom cleaners were used in adulterated ghee for making laddus.
(IANS)
