Rs 200 crore GST fraud busted in Bengaluru, 4 arrested: Report

Tightening their grip on tax frauds, the Bengaluru zonal unit of the Directorate of GST Intelligence arrested four men on tax frauds worth over Rs 200 crore by allegedly raising fake invoices for multinational companies, according to a report by The Times of India.

In what the report states is one of the biggest goods and services tax (GST) fraud, about Rs 1,000 crore was raised by the fraudsters for "bogus services". The four were arrested separately over the past few weeks

The frauds were busted by the Bengaluru zonal unit of the Directorate of GST Intelligence and the computation of the tax fraud amount is still being evaluated, the report added.

Delhi-based Kamlesh Mishra raised fake tax invoices worth Rs 500 crore by floating companies in the names of poor individuals, the report stated quoting intelligence wing sources.

"Mishra floated 23 companies in the names of poor individuals across the country, including some in Bengaluru who had a PAN and Aadhaar card. He paid them handsomely to use their documents to start companies in their names and created fake invoices for GST worth Rs 80 crore," an officer told the publication.

To obtain bills discounts and loans from banks, Mishra projected a huge turnover in his fictional firms and showed that he sold products for high profits.

"We raided and identified individuals who Mishra made as directors in bogus companies and after ascertaining the GST fraud, we arrested him," the officer added.

The report mentions Bengaluru-based businessman, Bialadigu Krishnaiah, who allegedly partnered with a Chinese men under a firm named Jump Monkey Promotions India Ltd.

"Through the firm, Krishnaiah issued fake invoices for well-established Chinese firms across India, falsely claiming he has sold goods and services and as a kickback, he received Rs 53 crore sent by China Construction Sausam India Pvt Ltd and Quingdao Constructions. He interacted with them frequently via WeChat messaging service and even made cryptocurrency purchases for large sums for Chinese persons," the official told the publication.

According to the report, Krishnaiah has been arrested and sent to a Bengaluru prison, while probe on the alleged fraud committed by him continues.

Benstar Power technologies, a city-based firm was also busted recently for issuing fake invoices. The officer said that director of the company, Suresh Mehta, was arrested in Bengaluru and Rs 12 crore was recovered from a multination company Mehta issued a fake invoice to.

Another Bengaluru-based businessman who deals in scrap materials, Haneef Mohammed under the company name Khwaja Enterprises was also arrested by sleuths for repeat tax fraud worth crores of rupees.

DH could not independently verify this report.