Rs 7.66 Crore Fraud Case Against Prisha Pearls

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Hyderabad Zonal Office today filed a prosecution complaint before the Special Court (PMLA), Hyderabad, against Prisha Pearls (India) Pvt Ltd, its directors Nilesh Kumar Agarwal and Sailesh Kumar Agarwal, Ghanshyamdas Jewellers, Agravanshi Agro Farms LLP and Gajanand Agarwal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The court has taken cognizance of the complaint as of March 1, 2025.

The ED's investigation stems from an FIR registered by the CBI, Hyderabad, against officials of the Humayun Nagar Sub-Post Office and unknown persons who allegedly conspired with Prisha Pearls to commit fraud.

The CBI subsequently filed a chargesheet against the company and its directors, detailing how they fraudulently booked excess parcels under the Value Payable Letter (VPL) and Value Payable Post (VPP) schemes, causing a wrongful loss of Rs 7.66 crore to the postal department.

The Department of Post had introduced the Remotely Managed Franking System (RMFS) to prevent postal fraud. Under this system, franking impression slips with unique serial numbers were generated to verify postage payments. However, Prisha Pearls allegedly exploited this system by:

- using fake franking impressions to book parcels without paying postage fees
- affixing photocopied impressions instead of valid ones on postal consignments
- under-reporting sales and parcel dispatches to manipulate records

The ED probe revealed that proceeds from the fraud were withdrawn in cash and later deposited into personal accounts of the directors and their family members. These funds were then layered through multiple banking transactions and merged into their family-run businesses to obscure the money trail.

Earlier, the ED had attached bank balances worth Rs 4.36 crore belonging to Prisha Pearls, its directors, and associated entities.

Further investigation is ongoing.