7 arrested in 900 crore GST scam crackdown

Agra: A significant GST fraud syndicate was uncovered as Uttar Pradesh police arrested seven individuals involved in a large-scale scam on Tuesday in Muzaffarnagar. The gang had been running 48 shell companies to issue fake GST bills amounting to Rs 900 crore without the actual movement of any goods. The fraud has led to a reported revenue loss of Rs 125 crore to govt.
The accused, including four scrap business owners, used these shell companies to issue fraudulent GST invoices for themselves and others.According to police, they had been under investigation for a while, and after a detailed probe, officers managed to apprehend the suspects. Authorities are now tracing additional individuals connected to the scam. Investigations are ongoing to reveal the full extent of the operation.
The suspects arrested include Tasleem, Asif, Junaid, Asu, Moein, and Azeem, with police searching for other members of the syndicate. Muzaffarnagar SSP Abhishekh Singh said, "Information was coming in about a group involved in GST fraud. Under SP (Dehat) Aditya Bansal's supervision, an investigation was conducted, leading to the arrests of seven individuals. They were involved in systematically stealing GST."
Police said that the gang members had collected KYC details from innocent people or stole them to create bank accounts and companies in their names. These details were then passed on to Tasleem and Asif, who played a key role in the second stage of the scam.
Singh added, "We have identified 48 shell companies involved. When we cross-referenced the GST details, fake GST bills worth Rs 925 crore were issued, resulting in a revenue loss of Rs 135 crore based on 18% GST fraud. The investigation is still ongoing."