Cyberabad police uncover interstate Rs 11.79-crore GST fraud; two arrested
The arrested have been identified as Sohil Muradali Lakhani (34), a resident of Abids and a native of Gujarat.
By Newsmeter Network
Hyderabad: The Cyberabad Police has busted a major interstate GST fraud network that created 10 fake GST-registered firms through which they siphoned more than Rs 11.79 crore from the government. Two persons have been arrested, and another three are absconding.
These firms never existed but were created using forged documents to show fake invoices and fabricated turnover.
Using these bogus entities, the accused fraudulently claimed and passed on Input Tax Credit (ITC) worth Rs 11,79,76,284, causing a heavy loss to the government. The accused operated a well-planned network across several states.
They used fake Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, electricity bills, rental agreements and other forged documents, and manipulated government portals using computers to carry out this large-scale GST fraud.
Accused details
The arrested have been identified as Sohil Muradali Lakhani (34), a resident of Abids and a native of Gujarat. He is the organiser and financial handler. The other person is Mohd Akram Hasnuddin (43), a resident of Adikmet and a middleman and document courier.
Three others identified as Abdullah, Syed Mujtaba Hussaini and Ayiti Raja Shekar are absconding.
Modus Operandi
The accused created ten fake GST-registered firms by fabricating identities using altered Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, electricity bills, rental agreements, GHMC licences and Labour Department certificates. Using these forged documents, they obtained SIM cards in false names and completed OTP-based verification on the GST portal, successfully registering GST numbers for firms that never existed.
After obtaining these fake GST numbers, they generated bogus purchase and sales invoices, created fake turnover and claimed ITC without any physical movement of goods. To support the deception, they created fake E-Waybills using real vehicle numbers with tampered chassis details.
Here are details about the operation:
- Total firms involved: 52
• States Involved: 8 (Telangana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Gujarat)
• Fake turnover generated: Rs 53.73 crores
• Fraudulent ITC claimed: Rs 11.79 crores
• Fake E-Waybills generated: 405
• Total fictitious GST registrations created: 10
• Total wrongful loss to government: Rs 11.79 crores
