Indore (Madhya Pradesh): After a three-day-long 24X7 search operation, the income tax department sleuths on Friday unearthed a bogus billing scam of Rs 500 crore. on Friday. The links of this scam were traced to 30 locations of Maharashtra and MP. Two Indore-based masterminds were behind the scam, using 30 money mules (dummies) and benefiting 200 prominent industry groups.
In the massive search operation, Rs 8 crore cash and gold jewellery worth Rs 2 crore were also seized. The masterminds invested the money earned from the scam in real estate. The scam was unearthed by 180 sleuths of the investigation wing of the income tax department Indore, who launched the search actions simultaneously at 30 locations of Maharashtra and MP early morning on February 18.
One hundred police personnel also assisted in the action. The search action was spread in three cities of Maharashtra and five cities of MP, including Indore, Gwalior, Ujjain, Khandwa and Bhikangaon of Khargone district. “ Two Indore-based masterminds, who were engaged in the cotton trade, started the bogus billing scam in 2018 and continued it till 2022. They used their 10 employees as money mules and raised 15 dummy firms by using their vital personal information and documents without their knowledge.
These were their watchmen and drivers etc. Interestingly, the duo kept on changing the addresses of its residences and firms. The bogus bills of the trade were made available to 200 fabric manufacturing units, including some well- known ones. Through the bogus billing, the fabric manufacturing units were showing higher expenses and lower profits and in this way they were evading income tax. Three such beneficiary units of bogus bills were also exposed in the search action,” sources told this correspondent.
Rs 2 cr cash recovered from almirah concealed in wall
In the entire search action, assets worth Rs 10 crore were seized, including Rs 8 cr. cash and gold jewellery worth Rs 2 crore. The I-T officers recovered Rs 2 crore cash from an almirah concealed in a wall.
Masterminds invested in real estate
The masterminds of the bogus bill scam, which ran from 2018 to 2022, invested the money in the real estate sector and developed a colony in the city on Ujjain Road. The land for the colony was purchased in cash and the payments received from the plot buyers were also in cash, which is called ‘on money’.
