Bhubaneswar, November 7: In a major breakthrough, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Bhubaneswar Zonal Unit, has arrested a man from Mumbai during coordinated search operations at multiple locations in Mumbai on November 5 in connection with an alleged GST fraud exceeding Rs 325 crore.
The arrested individual, Nilesh Yogesh Jagiwala, is the mastermind behind a sprawling network that created and operated numerous shell companies (over 105 Companies) to generate fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC).
Preliminary inquiry indicates the network registered multiple firms using forged identity documents and appointed dummy directors remotely, operating almost entirely through virtual infrastructure to create the appearance of legitimate commercial activity despite the absence of genuine physical operations.
The fraud architecture reportedly involved purchase of dormant companies with active GSTINs, remote DIR-12 filings to replace real directors with dummy directors, centralised control of GST portal access via operator-controlled SIM cards, mass generation of fake invoices, staged banking transactions followed by cash reversal and commission payments to obscure ultimate beneficiaries.
During searches at multiple locations in Mumbai and Pune, investigators seized a substantial cache of incriminating material, including fake seals of various companies, multiple mobile phones and SIM cards linked to GST registrations, digital records, bank account details, transaction logs and digital communications etc.
The Directorate had earlier arrested a woman from Pune Maharashtra on October 17 this year in coordinated operations across Mumbai and Pune; preliminary findings indicate she acted as a close accomplice of Nilesh Yogesh Jagiwala and operational coordinator within the same network. Both arrested persons have been remanded to judicial custody.
