India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been cracking down on financial crimes, with recent actions targeting an illegal surrogacy racket and a massive GST fraud scheme.
In one operation, ED teams raided nine locations across Hyderabad, Vijayawada, and Visakhapatnam on September 25. These searches fell under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and focused on an illegal surrogacy racket run by Dr. Pachipalli Namrata, also known as Athaluri Namrata. She allegedly operated the scheme through Universal Srishti Fertility and Research Centre. During the raids, investigators seized various incriminating documents that could reveal more about the operation.
Shifting to another major case, the ED’s Ranchi Zonal Office attached 10 immovable properties in West Bengal, valued at over Rs 15.41 crore. These properties belong to Amit Gupta, a key figure in a large-scale GST fraud syndicate, along with his associates. The attachments happened on September 29, again under PMLA provisions.
The ED launched its probe after receiving multiple complaints from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) in Jamshedpur. The complaints pointed to a criminal network led by Shiva Kumar Deora, Amit Gupta, Sumit Gupta, and Amit Agarwal—also called Vicky Bhalotia.
ED investigators uncovered how the group set up and ran 135 shell companies in Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Delhi. They issued fake GST invoices for goods that never existed, creating phony Input Tax Credit (ITC) worth more than Rs 734 crore. The syndicate then sold this bogus credit to other businesses for a cut, helping those companies dodge real GST payments and costing the government a huge amount.
According to the ED, the fraudsters pocketed about Rs 67 crore in commissions from this scheme, money they now label as proceeds of crime. These actions highlight the ED’s ongoing fight against money laundering and tax evasion in India.
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