In a case that has rattled both the pharmaceutical trade and cross-border regulators, the Delhi High Court has stepped in to grant interim protection from arrest to businessman Vicky Ramancha—accused of orchestrating an $18.8 million scam involving counterfeit doses of the diabetes drug Ozempic.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, presiding over the matter, ordered that no coercive action be taken against Ramancha until the next hearing scheduled for September 22. In the meantime, he has been directed to appear before investigators on August 25 and fully cooperate with the probe.
This reprieve comes days after a trial court had rejected his plea for anticipatory bail, highlighting the staggering scope of the alleged fraud and its dangerous implications for public health. The Patiala House Court had described India’s pharmaceutical industry as a “strategic national asset” and warned that criminal exploitation of this sector could damage the country’s global reputation as the “Pharmacy of the World.”
The allegations against Ramancha are steep. A US-based company, Assure Global LLC, claims it was duped into paying millions for what was promised to be 125,000 doses of Ozempic. The deal allegedly involved his India-linked operations along with entities based in Dubai and the United States. Ramancha is said to have flaunted political connections, provided notarised documents, and presented supply agreements from China and Hong Kong’s Ouchi Pharma to bolster credibility.
But once the shipment reached American shores, the US Food and Drug Administration intercepted it, declaring the drugs counterfeit. That revelation triggered a criminal complaint in Delhi, which eventually led the Economic Offences Wing to register a case under cheating, conspiracy, and breach of trust charges.
For now, Ramancha walks free under interim protection, but with multiple jurisdictions watching and millions at stake, the legal net continues to tighten.
