Hyderabad:
Enforcement Directorate has recorded statements from entry operators who admitted to providing bogus billing or ‘turnover' entries to keep the books of defunct or shell entities active in the alleged Andhra Pradesh skill scam. The agency said Shirish Chandrakant Shah and Vipin Kumar Sharma reportedly facilitated the routing of funds through their entities by generating fabricated invoices and documents to give the billing entries a "genuine image" appearance.
According to ED, the multi-layered fund flow explained how the alleged proceeds of crime were concealed. The money allegedly moved from the Andhra Pradesh govt to Designtech Systems Private Limited (DTSPL), then to Skillar Enterprises India Private Limited (SEPL). Further, the ED supplementary prosecution complaint said that it was part of a network of shell entities.
Entry Operators & Turnover Entries
In his statement, Shirish Chandrakant Shah, linked to Allied Computers International (Asia) Ltd (ACI), admitted to transacting approximately 58 crore through shell entities under his control "only for the purpose of layering the money" and for providing entries, without any genuine business. He also said the invoices generated were "fabricated and concocted" to provide a "genuine image" to the bogus billing entries, the complaint said.
Vipin Kumar Sharma confirmed that about 7.8 crore in bogus transactions were routed through the accounts of Inweb Services Pvt Ltd, ITsmith Solutions Pvt Ltd, and Patrick Info Services Pvt Ltd. He admitted these companies had no business activities and were used only to provide "turnover entries" to maintain shell entities, ED said, adding that bogus and fabricated invoices and other documents were created to make transfers from SEPL appear as a genuine supply of materials/services.
Layering trail
ED complaint said multiple entities were shell/defunct entities, and invoices were raised without any services. Invoices were created for "training software development" or "royalty and subscription". However, when confronted, SEPL claimed no technical work was subcontracted, the complaint said.
As per the ED, ICICI Bank account of DTSPL received 371 crore, the state's 10% contribution for the period between Dec 2015 and March 2016. DTSPL then transferred 243 crore to SEPL, which ED described as a company incorporated on July 30, 2015, shortly after the tripartite agreement.
ED said SEPL moved funds into multiple entities, including Cadence Partners LLP (about 17 crore) and Knowledge Podium Systems Pvt Ltd (about 38 crore), entities associated with Mukul Chandra Agrawal and his family. The complaint also detailed diversions to other entities such as ETA Greens Buildtech Pvt Ltd (about 18 crore), Polaris Softech Pvt Ltd (about 2.2 crore), Axon Smartcare India Pvt Ltd 73 lakh), Aptus Healthcare Pvt Ltd (41 lakh), and Bhartiya Global Info Media Ltd (about 3.1 crore). The "ultimate purpose", ED alleged, was cash withdrawal, with entry operators receiving commissions.
The complaint also alleged diversion into immovable properties, including units in Chattarpur (New Delhi) and a plot in Dehradun, and outward remittances to Ben Research Pte Ltd and Inkfish Hospitality Pte Ltd in Singapore (together about 4.2 crore) and SKGWORLS Forex Ltd in the United Kingdom (73.6 lakh).
Sudhakar Reddy Udumula is the Editor (Investigation) at the Times...
Read MoreSudhakar Reddy Udumula is the Editor (Investigation) at the Times of India, Hyderabad. Following the trail of migration and drought across the rustic landscape of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Sudhakar reported extensively on government apathy, divisive politics, systemic gender discrimination, agrarian crisis and the will to survive great odds. His curiosity for peeking behind the curtain triumphed over the criminal agenda of many scamsters in the highest political and corporate circles, making way for breaking stories such as Panama Papers Scam, Telgi Stamp Paper Scam, and many others. His versatility in reporting extended to red corridors of left-wing extremism where the lives of security forces and the locals in Maoist-affected areas were key points of investigation. His knack for detail provided crucial evidence of involvement from overseas in terrorist bombings in Hyderabad.
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