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ED arrests former I-T officer, 2 Associates in Rs 263-crore TDS scam
PrintThe Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday arrested former Income-Tax (I-T) officer Tanaji Mandal Adhikari and his associates Bhushan Patil and Rajesh Shetty in connection with a Rs 263-crore TDS scam. Adhikari allegedly generated fake TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) refunds to the tune of Rs 263 crore when he was posted in I-T’s Mumbai office. The accused were produced before a special court in Mumbai and sent to ED’s custody till July 24.
Earlier, the anti-money laundering agency attached 32 immovable and movable properties worth Rs 69.65 crore in Maharashtra and Karnataka as part of the probe.
The ED’s investigation is based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Delhi, on the basis of a written complaint by the Additional Director General (Vigilance)-4 CBDT about bogus issuance of refunds for Assessment Years 2007-08 and 2008-09.
It was alleged that Adhikari (38), while working as a senior tax assistant, had access to RSA (Request Service Acceptance) tokens and login credentials of his supervisory authorities and orchestrated the fraud in connivance with others, deceptively generating TDS refunds exceeding Rs 263 crore and transferred it to various bank accounts, including that of M/s SB Enterprises, a proprietary concern of Patil (28).
The CBI had also filed a chargesheet against Adhikari, Patil, Shetty (52) and others for committing offences including cheating, forgery, criminal breach of trust under the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
“ED’s investigation under PMLA revealed that, during the period of November 15, 2019 to November 04, 2020, total 12 fraudulent TDS refunds were generated by Adhikari amounting Rs 263,95,31,870, which were fraudulently credited in the account of M/s SB Enterprises,” the ED said earlier in a statement.
These Proceeds of Crime (PoC) were subsequently transferred into the bank accounts of Patil and other related persons and entities and also in shell companies, the statement added.
During the course of the investigation, it was revealed that one Kriti Verma — GST officer-turned-actor who is a close friend of Patil — had sold one such property in Gurugram, Haryana, which was acquired in 2021 out of POC of Rs 1.02 crore, and received sale proceeds in her bank accounts. Immediately search operations were conducted and the entire sale proceeds of Rs 1.18 crore were identified in her bank accounts and freezed, the agency had stated.
While seeking their custody, the ED claimed that Adhikari in connivance with Patil purchased various immovable properties in the latter’s name and the payments for these were made through the accounts of S B Enterprises. The ED also claimed that Adhikari had access to various debit/credit cards of Patil and used the accounts for transfer of funds. The ED submitted that Adhikari had transferred Rs 55.50 crore from the savings account of Patil to shell companies. The ED also claimed that Shetty too received proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 33.87 crore from Patil in various accounts including of a restaurant linked to him. The ED sought their custody for 10 days for a further probe. Special Judge M G Deshpande granted their custody to the ED till July 24.
The ED probe also revealed that immovable properties in the form of lands at Lonavala, Khandala, Karjat, Pune and Udupi areas, flats at Panvel and Mumbai areas and movable assets in the form of three luxury cars (BMW X7, Mercedes GLS400d, Audi Q7) have been acquired out of the proceeds of crime in their names and in the names of other related persons.
On identification of these assets, 32 assets totalling Rs 69,65,99,720 were provisionally attached. Thus, out of the total PoC of Rs 263 crore, assets of Rs 166 crore have been either seized or attached provisionally.
Earlier, the anti-money laundering agency attached 32 immovable and movable properties worth Rs 69.65 crore in Maharashtra and Karnataka as part of the probe.
The ED’s investigation is based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Delhi, on the basis of a written complaint by the Additional Director General (Vigilance)-4 CBDT about bogus issuance of refunds for Assessment Years 2007-08 and 2008-09.
It was alleged that Adhikari (38), while working as a senior tax assistant, had access to RSA (Request Service Acceptance) tokens and login credentials of his supervisory authorities and orchestrated the fraud in connivance with others, deceptively generating TDS refunds exceeding Rs 263 crore and transferred it to various bank accounts, including that of M/s SB Enterprises, a proprietary concern of Patil (28).
The CBI had also filed a chargesheet against Adhikari, Patil, Shetty (52) and others for committing offences including cheating, forgery, criminal breach of trust under the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
“ED’s investigation under PMLA revealed that, during the period of November 15, 2019 to November 04, 2020, total 12 fraudulent TDS refunds were generated by Adhikari amounting Rs 263,95,31,870, which were fraudulently credited in the account of M/s SB Enterprises,” the ED said earlier in a statement.
These Proceeds of Crime (PoC) were subsequently transferred into the bank accounts of Patil and other related persons and entities and also in shell companies, the statement added.
During the course of the investigation, it was revealed that one Kriti Verma — GST officer-turned-actor who is a close friend of Patil — had sold one such property in Gurugram, Haryana, which was acquired in 2021 out of POC of Rs 1.02 crore, and received sale proceeds in her bank accounts. Immediately search operations were conducted and the entire sale proceeds of Rs 1.18 crore were identified in her bank accounts and freezed, the agency had stated.
While seeking their custody, the ED claimed that Adhikari in connivance with Patil purchased various immovable properties in the latter’s name and the payments for these were made through the accounts of S B Enterprises. The ED also claimed that Adhikari had access to various debit/credit cards of Patil and used the accounts for transfer of funds. The ED submitted that Adhikari had transferred Rs 55.50 crore from the savings account of Patil to shell companies. The ED also claimed that Shetty too received proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 33.87 crore from Patil in various accounts including of a restaurant linked to him. The ED sought their custody for 10 days for a further probe. Special Judge M G Deshpande granted their custody to the ED till July 24.
The ED probe also revealed that immovable properties in the form of lands at Lonavala, Khandala, Karjat, Pune and Udupi areas, flats at Panvel and Mumbai areas and movable assets in the form of three luxury cars (BMW X7, Mercedes GLS400d, Audi Q7) have been acquired out of the proceeds of crime in their names and in the names of other related persons.
On identification of these assets, 32 assets totalling Rs 69,65,99,720 were provisionally attached. Thus, out of the total PoC of Rs 263 crore, assets of Rs 166 crore have been either seized or attached provisionally.
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