The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has unearthed a financial fraud involving fake GST invoicing, bogus firms and suspicious cash withdrawals amounting to ₹3,089.57 crore.
Following a formal complaint filed by the central probe agency, five key suspects have been named, while two others remain unidentified.
The syndicate established a network of shell companies to generate fake invoices, pass illegal input tax credit (ITC) and execute large-scale, suspicious cash withdrawals.
The ED named Amit Kumar Goyal, his brother Manish Kumar, Gaurav Aggarwal, all from Mandi Gobindgarh, Gurdeep Singh and Balwant Singh, both from Lohar Majra village in Fatehgarh Sahib. Two accused are yet to be identified.
Acting on the complaint, the Jamalpur police have registered a first information report (FIR) under Sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for cheating), 471 (using forged documents as genuine) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the accused.
The FIR was registered on the complaint of ED assistant director Suraj Kumar Yadav, who alleged that a well-organised network of individuals and entities was involved in fraudulent transactions and suspected money laundering by creating multiple fake firms using common addresses, phone numbers and email IDs.
The ED investigation revealed that the accused allegedly used fake GST invoices and layered high-value funds through bogus business entities before routing them into APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) bank accounts maintained in various branches of IDFC First Bank. From these accounts, huge cash withdrawals were made to bypass TDS liabilities under Section 194N of the Income Tax Act.
According to the ED, cash withdrawals totalling ₹3,089.57 crore were made through 25 bank accounts linked to different entities. Major withdrawals were recorded in accounts of firms such as Bhola and Sons ( ₹354.36 crore), Mandeep Singh and Sons ( ₹327.17 crore), Jaipal and Sons ( ₹257.02 crore), Sunil Enterprise ( ₹237.12 crore), Singh Trading Company ( ₹198.1 crore), Jagdamba Enterprises ( ₹197.35 crore) and Gurman Traders ( ₹159.35 crore).
During investigation under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the ED analysed multiple bank accounts and found that funds were received via RTGS (Real-Time Gross Settlement), an electronic payment system primarily used for high-value transactions, in fake firms and later transferred through layers to APMC accounts to facilitate cash withdrawals.
The ED also relied on data collected by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Ludhiana zonal unit, which had earlier investigated fraudulent transactions involving Amit Kumar Goyal and his brother Manish Kumar. The DGGI found that the duo, along with Gaurav Aggarwal, allegedly created 27 fake firms to siphon off funds and generate fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC).
The ED officials found that these shell entities enabled fraudulent ITC worth ₹108.49 crore on total billing of ₹720.97 crore, causing substantial losses to the government exchequer.
The FIR mentioned that searches conducted by DGGI led to recovery of 54 cheque books, 46 ATM cards, five voter ID cards, 11 PAN cards, seven stamps, multiple mobile phones, hard disks, laptops and loose papers, indicating large-scale misuse of identities to run dummy firms.
The ED stated that 27 fake firms were allegedly created and controlled by Amit Kumar Goyal and Manish Kumar. Two firms — NR Steels and Goyal Steel Industries — were created using Amit Goyal’s own PAN, while the remaining firms were allegedly created by misusing KYC documents of financially vulnerable individuals.
The probe further revealed that the modus operandi involved generating fake invoices through bogus firms, receiving payments through RTGS, routing the funds via multiple entities to APMC accounts, withdrawing cash in large volumes, and then returning the cash to beneficiary firms after deducting commission.
In statements recorded under FEMA, Amit Kumar Goyal allegedly admitted that he had been working as an entry operator since 2018, receiving RTGS payments from various firms and returning cash after deducting commission. He reportedly confessed that no actual goods were supplied and only fake invoices were generated to project legitimate business activity.
ASI Gurmeet Singh, who is investigating the case, said that the FIR has been lodged following an investigation carried out by the ED officials. The Police have launched further investigation into the alleged financial fraud and money laundering network. A hunt is on for the arrest of the accused.
