The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted extensive raids across Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and West Bengal, exposing one of the largest Goods and Services Tax (GST) frauds in recent years. The operation is linked to the creation of fake invoices worth ₹14,325 crore, resulting in an alleged GST evasion of around ₹800 crore.
ED teams simultaneously raided eight locations, including Ranchi, Dhanbad, Seraikela, Jamshedpur, Navi Mumbai, and sites in West Bengal. The action stems from revelations made during the interrogation of alleged mastermind Shivkumar Devda, a Kolkata-based businessman currently under ED custody. Devda is accused of orchestrating a complex web of shell companies to generate fraudulent invoices and illegally claim input tax credit.
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A Network of 135 Shell Companies
Investigations revealed the existence of 135 shell companies, created to fabricate invoices without actual movement of goods or services. These entities, controlled by Devda and associates, allegedly facilitated large-scale tax evasion by issuing and receiving fake bills. ED has already frozen ₹60 lakh from ten bank accounts linked to the network.
In Dhanbad, the probe extended to furniture businessman Amit Agarwal alias Chinu, whose home and commercial premises were searched. The ED questioned him regarding his suspected involvement in the fake billing racket. CRPF personnel provided security during the operations, and entry to the premises was restricted.
The searches also targeted Agarwal’s firm, Jagdamba Furniture, located near Jharia Taxi Stand. Documents seized from the site are under forensic examination, and two individuals were detained for questioning.
Link to Earlier GST Evasion Case
The raids have connections to a July 22 bust in Dhanbad, where GST Intelligence detected fake invoices worth over ₹170 crore generated through eight shell companies. The scam allowed fraudulent claims of input tax credit amounting to ₹30 crore. Two individuals, Avneesh Jaiswal of Hirapur and Faizal Khan of Matkuria, were arrested and sent to judicial custody in Jamshedpur. Their interrogation reportedly provided key leads that guided ED’s wider probe.
Officials have hinted at the possibility of more arrests in the coming weeks as they continue to trace the money trail, assess the role of additional business entities, and scrutinize interstate linkages in the fraudulent operations. The scale of the scam has raised alarms in tax enforcement circles, with investigators calling it a “well-coordinated, multi-state racket.”