Police bust ₹51 cr GST fraud: Two arrested in fake firms nexus

The arrests came as discrepancies were flagged in bank accounts of two men, who had opened multiple current accounts in Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar to claim GST refunds

NoidaWith the arrest of two people, Central Noida police claimed to have busted a nexus that has allegedly duped the government of ₹51 crore by submitting fake Goods and Services Tax (GST) bills worth ₹350 crore. Officials said on Monday more arrests are likely as only five years of data has been retrieved from the bank so far.

“The suspects are part of a large nexus that dupes the government through GST fraud. In two days, we were able to retrieve five years of data from the bank. Our investigation is underway to identify the masterminds of the gang,” said Diksha Singh, assistant commissioner of police, Central Noida. (HT Photos)

The arrests came after a nationalised bank’s headquarters in Mumbai detected discrepancies in the bank accounts of the two men, who had opened multiple current accounts in Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar to claim GST refunds.

The arrested accused were identified as Praveen Kumar, 38, a resident of Hapur, and Satyendra Singh, 37 from Bulandshahr.

Shakti Mohan Avasthy, deputy commissioner of police, Central Noida, explained the modus operandi and said that the suspects would submit forged documents to obtain GST numbers and register fake companies. Initially, it was found that they had opened six shell companies. “But when we investigated, it was revealed that the six registered mobile numbers linked to the banks were used on nine different phones. Later, when the IMEI numbers of these mobiles were scanned, it was revealed that 87 mobile numbers were linked to these IMEI addresses,” said DCP Avasthy.

These 87 numbers were used to open 86 shell companies, who had fraudulently claimed a total of ₹51 crore by submitting ₹350 crore worth fake bills, the DCP said.

Police said that after receiving the GST refunds, the suspects used to transfer the money to different bank accounts. “The suspects are part of a large nexus that dupes the government through GST fraud. In two days, we were able to retrieve five years of data from the bank. Our investigation is underway to identify the masterminds of the gang who instructed them to open the bank accounts,” said Diksha Singh, assistant commissioner of police, Central Noida.

Police registered a case under sections 316(2) (criminal breach of trust), 318(4) (cheating), 338, 336, and 340, which deal with forgery under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), at Bisrakh police station.