Gurugram, February 6: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken significant action in a high-profile bank fraud and money laundering case linked to Richa Industries Limited (RIL) by arresting the company’s former Resolution Professional (RP), Arvind Kumar. Kumar served as the RP for Richa Industries from December 2018 until June 2025. He was arrested on February 3, 2026, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
Following his arrest, Kumar was presented in court, where he was remanded to ED custody for eight days. Previously, Sandeep Gupta, the former promoter and suspended Managing Director of Richa Industries, was also arrested under Section 19 of the PMLA.
The ED initiated its investigation based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI had filed a case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act (PC Act), 1988, citing charges of criminal conspiracy, fraud, and misconduct. It is alleged that between 2015 and 2018, the accused caused a loss of approximately ₹236 crores to public sector banks while illegally benefiting themselves.
The ED’s investigation revealed that Arvind Kumar misused company funds for personal gain during his tenure as Resolution Professional. Significant amounts were transferred from Richa Industries Limited to entities associated with his close associates and employees through layered transactions. These intermediaries subsequently funneled the funds back into Kumar’s personal bank accounts.
Bank records indicate that over ₹80 lakhs in suspicious cash deposits were found in his personal accounts during his time as RP, with more than ₹1 crore transferred from related parties to his accounts. These parties had previously received payments from the company. The ED asserts that Kumar was the direct beneficiary of the ‘proceeds of crime’ generated from the original bank fraud and attempted to disguise these illegal funds as legitimate transactions related to the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP).
According to the ED, the conspiracy orchestrated by the RP resulted in public sector banks suffering a significant haircut of nearly 94%. After the liquidation of Richa Industries, banks received only ₹40 crores against approved claims of ₹708 crores. Previously, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) had suspended Kumar’s RP registration for two years due to these irregularities.
The ED emphasized that such alleged misuse of the insolvency process and legal framework not only undermines the recovery of creditors and the objectives of corporate revival but also erodes public trust in the financial and insolvency systems. The agency has clarified that further investigations are ongoing to trace the entire flow of funds and examine the roles of all involved parties.