The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out search operations in Jharkhand, Manipur, and Kolkata related to a significant fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) scam amounting to approximately Rs 658 crore. The raids targeted individuals and firms suspected of involvement in the fraud, with the ED’s Itanagar unit leading the operation in collaboration with state police forces.
Investigators revealed that the case revolves around companies accused of creating and utilizing fraudulent ITC through counterfeit invoices without actual goods or services transactions. These illicit claims not only impact the treasury but are also linked to money laundering and shell company networks. The ED sources indicated that the case stemmed from an FIR filed at the Itanagar Police Station in Arunachal Pradesh, naming Rakesh Sharma and Ashutosh Kumar Jha, among others, for their alleged roles in a criminal conspiracy involving cheating and document forgery.
The complaint specifically addresses the deceptive practices of M/s Siddhi Vinayak Trade Merchants, a fictitious entity, which fraudulently availed ITC worth Rs 99.31 crore based on bogus invoices valued at Rs 658.55 crore, involving 58 shell entities across various states. The ED is delving deeper into the fake ITC layering and tracking the laundered money in this illicit process. The agency is actively investigating the matter, with ongoing efforts to uncover more details.
In a separate development, the ED intensified its actions in the multi-crore coal smuggling case in West Bengal by summoning seven additional coal traders for questioning. This move follows the controversy surrounding the ED’s previous search operations at the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) office and the residence of I-PAC’s director and co-founder, Pratik Jain, on January 8 in connection with the same coal-smuggling case.
