Kolkata, 20 January (H.S.): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday carried out simultaneous search operations across several states, including Kolkata, Jharkhand and Manipur, in connection with a massive fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) scam involving around ₹658 crore, sources in the central investigating agency said.

According to the sources, the raids were conducted at the premises of individuals and firms suspected to be linked to the large-scale tax fraud. The operation is being spearheaded by the ED’s Itanagar unit in coordination with the respective state police forces.

Investigators allege that several firms generated and availed fraudulent ITC through fake invoices without any actual supply of goods or services. Such bogus claims not only cause significant losses to the exchequer but are also often linked to money laundering activities and networks of shell companies.

ED sources said the case stems from an FIR registered at the Itanagar Police Station in Arunachal Pradesh against Rakesh Sharma and Ashutosh Kumar Jha, along with other unidentified individuals, for their alleged involvement in a criminal conspiracy involving cheating and forgery of documents.

As per the complaint, large-scale fraud was carried out through M/s Siddhi Vinayak Trade Merchants, a purported non-existent entity. The investigation has revealed that ITC amounting to ₹99.31 crore was availed on the basis of bogus invoices worth ₹658.55 crore. The scam allegedly involves 58 shell entities spread across different states.

The ED is now probing the layering of fake ITC and tracing the proceeds of crime generated through the alleged money laundering process. Agency sources said further investigation in the matter is underway.

Meanwhile, the ED has also intensified its probe into the multi-crore coal smuggling case in West Bengal. On Tuesday, the agency summoned seven more coal traders for interrogation in connection with the case, taking the total number of coal traders summoned so far to 15.

The coal smuggling probe had recently come into sharp focus following the ED’s simultaneous raid and search operations on January 8 at the office of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and the residence of its director and co-founder, Pratik Jain, in connection with the same case.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh