Delhi: 30-year-old arrested for over ₹30 crore import/export fraud

The accused, Angad Pal Singh also known as Angad Singh Chandhok, was deported from the United States and arrested on June 2

A 30-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly orchestrating a ₹30.47 crore fraud by submitting forged remittance documents to avail export incentives under the Foreign Trade Policy, the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) said on Saturday.

Police said that the case, registered in 2017 following a complaint from ICICI Bank, involves a complex web of document forgery and financial manipulation. (Representational image)

The accused, Angad Pal Singh also known as Angad Singh Chandhok, was deported from the United States and arrested on June 2, said deputy commissioner of police (EOW) Vikram Porwal. Singh conspired with a private bank employees to forge more than 460 Foreign Inward Remittance Certificates (FIRCs), which were used to fraudulently claim duty credit scrips — government-issued incentives meant for exporters, said police.

“Singh and his father Surinder Singh and brother Harsahib Singh managed five export firms that used these forged FIRCs to illegally secure trade benefits from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT),” said DCP Porwal. The firms — Kumar Trading Company, National Trader, Trident Overseas India, HSC Exim India, and AHC Auto Spares — allegedly did not receive any legitimate export payments.

Police said that the case, registered in 2017 following a complaint from a private bank, involves a complex web of document forgery and financial manipulation. According to investigators, between 2013 and 2015, the private bank’s Naraina branch received 467 fraudulent FIRCs purportedly issued by a second private bank’s Bhikaji Cama Place branch. These FIRCs falsely claimed foreign remittances for exports that never occurred, police said.

According to police, based on these documents, the first private bank issued Bank Realisation Certificates (BRCs), which the accused firms used to obtain Duty Credit Scrips from DGFT. The scrips, which are tradable, allow importers to offset customs duties.

“This fraud was not just limited to paper forgery. The accused opened accounts at the first private bank and processed fake export documentation with alleged assistance from within the bank,” Porwal said, adding that the proceeds from the sale of these scrips were never backed by real exports.

Singh, a class 12 pass-out from Delhi, reportedly learned the ropes of the export-import business from his father, an auto parts trader. He later roped in his friends and relatives to set up additional shell firms under the promise of high returns, police said.

Three co-accused have already been arrested and charge-sheeted in the case, police added. Singh was sent to judicial custody and is also linked to another fraud case under investigation by EOW.

Police said further inquiries are underway to identify the full scale of the alleged conspiracy and potential involvement of bank officials.