The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Wednesday conducted search operations at 15 locations across several states in connection with the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTDs) ghee adulteration fraud case.The searches were conducted in Mumbai, Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar in Maharashtra), Bikaner (Rajasthan), Dehradun and Roorkee (both in Uttarakhand), Delhi, Dindigul (Tamil Nadu), and Guntur (Andhra Pradesh).The searches covered the residential and office premises of Pomil Jain, Vipin Jain, Raju Rajasekaran, Rajesh Mansukhlal Chavda, Apurva Vinaykanth Chavda, Machindra Shantaram Lanke, Ajay Kumar Sugandh, Mahesh Kumar Rohira and Ashish Agarwal.During the search operations, cash amounting to Rs 60 lakh was seized. The searches also led to disclosures regarding investments of Proceeds of Crime (PoC) in properties valued at more than Rs 45 crore, apart from details of several immovable properties held in the names of the accused persons and their family members.The search operations further covered the dairy plants of AR Dairy Food Pvt Ltd, Dindigul; Malganga Milk & Agro Products Pvt Ltd, Ahilyanagar; and Bhole Baba Organic Dairy Milk Pvt Ltd, Roorkee. Various incriminating documents were seized, indicating the use of a complex network of legal entities to facilitate bogus sale and purchase transactions for concealment and layering of Proceeds of Crime.ED had initiated investigation under the PMLA, 2002, on the basis of an FIR registered against M/s AR Dairy Food Pvt Ltd and others. It is alleged that the accused persons, in conspiracy with certain TTD officials, committed criminal breach of trust, cheating, and caused wrongful loss to TTD by supplying adulterated ghee.Investigation conducted so far has revealed that the Proceeds of Crime generated through the supply of adulterated ghee to TTD were subsequently invested in immovable properties through a complex web of interconnected legal entities and business concerns to conceal the illicit origin of funds.