GST evasion: ED conducts raids, seizes Rs 29 lakh cash in case against Gujarat company

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized Rs 29 lakh in cash after it recently carried out raids in multiple cities in a money laundering case linked to alleged GST evasion of Rs 122 crore by a Gujarat company, the agency said on Monday. The searches were launched on June 2 at 25 locations in Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Botad, Gandhidham in Gujarat and Mumbai and Bengaluru in a case against Mohammad Ejaj Bomar and others.

The premises of the accused, who were "involved" in preparing bogus documents on the basis of which fake GST (Goods and Services Tax) firms were made, and the entities which were used for providing bogus Input Tax Credit (ITC) were covered, it said in a statement.

The ED case, filed under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stems from an FIR of the Bhavnagar police in Gujarat.


According to a charge sheet filed by the police in this case, the ED said, the accused changed the mobile numbers linked to the Aadhaar cards of several persons promising them financial assistance under government schemes and later on used these Aadhaar details for obtaining PAN and then GST registration.

"Fake invoices of more than Rs 1,102 crore, involving GST evasion of Rs 122 crore and using 461 bogus firms, were issued," the ED said quoting the charge sheet.

The modus operandi of this fraud is that the accused were "creating fake entities through forged documents to obtain GST registration. Later on, these fake entities passed on ITC to beneficiaries by generating fake invoices on commission basis."

"Payment for these fake invoices was made through banking channels and later on the amount was settled in cash between the operator of the fake entity and the beneficiary," it said.

"Incriminating documents" like forms for changing mobile numbers from Aadhaar cards, fake bills issued from these bogus entities and digital evidence and Rs 29 lakh cash was seized during the raids, it said.