Maharashtra Goods and Services Department(GST) has nabbed a Gujarat-based couple for a massive Rs 450 crore fraud. The couple was nabbed in a first of its kind interstate investigation.
Gujarat Police and Mumbai Police have nabbed Sanjeev Singh of Prime Overseas and Prima Mhatre of Dolphin Overseas from Surat. The couple was produced before the court and they were sent to 14 days of judicial custody.
The couple was evading GST in Maharashtra since August 2021 for which they were sent a summons to appear before the authority but they were evading it ever since. In the early stage of the investigation, the couple faked medical conditions to evade the inquiry.
According to the GST official the team pursued the case despite no support in investigation from the couple and finally came to the conclusion that the couple had evaded GST of around Rs 111 crore. The GST department cracked the case after understanding the modus operandi of the couple.
Their modus operandi was to float as many bogus firms in the name of unknown persons and create fake invoices of around Rs 482 crore. In their attempt, they got a tax credit of Rs 111 crore.
After an investigation and collection of all the documents, the GST department of Maharashtra approached Gujarat Police and the couple- Prima Mhatre and Sanjeev Singh were arrested from their posh apartment in Surat. The operation was successfully carried out by GST Joint Commissioner Sampada Mehta, Deputy Commissioner Vinod Desai, Assistant Commissioner Rishikesh Wagh, Tax Officer Swati Shinde, and their teams.
