The Kolkata zonal office of the directorate of enforcement (ED) has arrested Pratyush Kumar Sureka, a 40-year-old resident of the city, in connection with a major bank fraud case worth ₹2,672 crore involving Shree Ganesh Jewellery House (I) Ltd (SGJHIL).
Mr Sureka was arrested on 16th January under Section 19(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. He has been remanded to four days of ED custody by the special PMLA court.
According to ED, the case pertains to an alleged fraud of ₹2,672 crore committed against a consortium of 25 banks by SGJHIL and its promoters. The agency initiated its probe based on a first information report (FIR) registered by central bureau of investigation’s (CBI's) bank fraud and financial securities wing in Kolkata.
ED investigations revealed that around Y11–12, SGJHIL diverted bank loans sanctioned for its jewellery business into solar power projects through Alex Astral Power Pvt Ltd and related entities. Mr Sureka was appointed as joint managing director (Jt MD) of Alex Astral Power through an agreement dated 24 April 2012.
The agency alleged that a solar power plant valued at around ₹400 crore, comprising ₹120 crore in equity and ₹280 crore in bank financing, was fraudulently transferred using Alex Astral Power. The project was supported by a long-term power purchase agreement with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd and was secured by a corporate guarantee from SGJHIL.
However, the asset was allegedly transferred for less than ₹20 crore through a sham investment agreement involving entities controlled by Mr Sureka. ED says the related-party transaction was structured to conceal the true value of the asset, causing losses to creditor banks and financial institutions.
ED stated that Mr Sureka had been associated with the solar power project since its inception and was involved in its operation and management. Despite having 'very little real net worth', the investigation found that assets worth several hundred crores were transferred through circular transactions, entry operators, bogus documentation and a complex corporate structure.
According to the agency, these sham transactions shifted legal ownership and control of the solar assets away from SGJHIL and its promoters at a time when the company was already facing recovery proceedings by banks.
Electronic evidence gathered during the probe allegedly showed that even after the solar asset was shown as sold on paper, Nilesh Parekh, promoter of SGJHIL, continued to receive large amounts of cash from Mr Sureka for several years. The cash, generated from the same solar assets, was allegedly used and enjoyed by Mr Parekh, attracting the offence of money laundering under Section 3 of the PMLA, ED says.
The agency says statements from employees and directors of Alex Astral Power and related companies, along with forensic analysis of electronic devices, revealed large-scale record fabrication. Mr Sureka allegedly fabricated board resolutions, backdated agreements, misused digital signatures and appointed dummy directors to conceal his control over the entities and create false records of transactions.
Further, funds of Alex Astral Power and other group companies were allegedly siphoned off through sham loans, bogus expenses and circular transactions into entities controlled by Mr Sureka and his family, projecting the proceeds of crime as untainted money.
ED says Mr Sureka did not cooperate with the investigation, despite being given multiple opportunities and attempted to flee the country. On 5 January 2026, he was intercepted at Kolkata airport while attempting to fly to Thailand, following the issuance of a look-out circular (LOC).
Citing non-cooperation, risk of destruction of evidence, possible witness intimidation, flight risk and continued dissipation of proceeds of crime, ED says it decided to arrest him.
Further investigation in the case is underway.
