High-profile ‘fixer’ directs ₹8-cr GST fraud from Mumbai prison

The EOW tracked down and apprehended Hiten Bhagat, who allegedly orchestrated the fraudulent scheme while locked inside Byculla Jail.

Hiten Bhagat, a suspected high-profile liaisoner, allegedly convinced a former company executive to pay nearly ₹8 crore on the promise of getting a hefty GST liability settled, even allegedly continuing to direct the money transfers while he was in Byculla Jail. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has now booked Hiten alias Romi Bhagat and his associate Akash Gupta for allegedly cheating BWW Global Pvt Ltd of ₹7.99 crore and threatening the complainant.

Law enforcement officers are conducting an investigation involving Hiten Bhagat and financial fraud.

The case was registered following a complaint by Amit Tipnis, a Dadar resident who worked as the company’s country manager. Police said the company’s operations shut during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, after which its financial liabilities began mounting. A company officer, Sachin Adhikari, allegedly blamed Tipnis for a GST liability of around ₹11 crore.

In September 2023, Tipnis met Bhagat through a lawyer. According to police, Bhagat first told him to file a case against Adhikari in Assam, where the company was headquartered. Tipnis followed the advice and filed the case.

Police said Bhagat continued to communicate with Tipnis from jail.

“During incarceration, Bhagat asked Tipnis to meet him in Byculla Jail and told him he would not be in jail for long and that he should transfer the GST settlement money immediately to the bank accounts whose details were provided by him,” said a police officer.

Gupta allegedly reinforced Bhagat’s instructions and told Tipnis to transfer the money to various accounts. Police said Gupta also threatened that Tipnis’s bank accounts would be frozen using contacts in the GST department. Some of the accounts were subsequently frozen, according to the complaint.

“Finally, the complainant transferred around ₹8 crore to various bank accounts mentioned by Gupta. The complainant was even introduced to a chartered accountant who told him that he would help. However, later Bhagat and Gupta stopped taking his calls and even threatened him,” the officer said.

Tipnis eventually realised that the promised GST settlement work was not being done and approached the police.

Bhagat has previously figured in a crime branch investigation. In 2024, officers had found several Enforcement Directorate documents and three automatic weapons at his residence, police said.

The EOW has booked Bhagat and Gupta under sections 318 (cheating) and 351 (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.