GST fraud: Cops attach 12cr property of 4 suspects in Del

Noida: Four plush flats at upscale housing societies in Delhi’s Rohini and Adarsh Nagar were sealed and properties worth around Rs 12 crore attached by Noida police over the last two days in connection with the multi-crore GST fraud. The properties, police said, are owned by four suspected masterminds —Arjit Goyal, Rohit Nagpal, Anchit Goyal and Pradeep Goyal — of the well-oiled gang that pulled off the nearly Rs 15,000-crore scam and are currently absconding.The gang, busted in June last year, would use fake Aadhaar and PAN details to float bogus companies and fraudulently claim the input tax credit on their behalf. Arjit and Rohit would allegedly hire agents to commit the identity thefts, police said. Twenty-nine people have been arrested so far, while seven other identified suspects, including Arijit, Pradeep, Anchit and Pradeep, are still on the run along with a few unidentified ones. On Feb 19, a local court issued 21 warrants to attach properties of the seven absconders —Vikas Dabas, Kunal Mehta and Baldev alias Balli besides Anchit, Pradeep, Arjit and Rohit — under CrPC Section 83 (attachment of property of person absconding), ACP-1 (Noida) Rajneesh Verma told TOI. “On Wednesday, our team attached the properties of Arjit and Rohit in Rohini’s Sector 13, while the properties of Anchit and Pradeep in Adarsh Nagar were attached on Thursday. In all, properties of the seven absconding suspects, cumulatively worth over Rs 25 crore, have been identified and will be attached soon,” the officer said. Previously, police and the GST department froze tax benefits worth Rs 4,000 crore that were claimed on behalf of fake companies linked to the case. “Arjit and Rohit would hire people to commit identity thefts by purchasing Aadhaar and PAN data. These identities were then used to register bogus companies. Fake e-way bills would be created to show that companies were transporting goods or providing services, and the companies would fraudulently avail ITC from the govt. Anchit and Pradeep were also among the brains operating the gang,” an investigating officer said. Some of the shell companies had even shown import-export business with companies based in countries like Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.