There are concerns over possible money laundering after the Ahmedabad police crime branch discovered a complex network of illegal activities involving 220 fictitious companies. Additionally, the police discovered “sensitive” messages that were exchanged between Mahesh Langa, who is currently in custody for ten days in connection with the probe, and senior IAS and IPS officials. The necessity to sort through the web of shell corporations and follow the money trail might have prompted the ED’s entry.
State officials are worried about this move because they believe that the agency’s involvement could expand the investigation’s scope. A police officer stated, “We have shared details of the case with the ED and the Income Tax department, as the accused individuals have floated dummy firms possibly to launder money.” An enforcement case information report (ECIR) will probably be registered by the central agency.
According to insiders, Langa’s communications with bureaucrats and senior police officers caught the government’s top brass off guard. Some of the bureaucrats reportedly utilised the journalist’s network to pass on confidential material to opposition parties and corporations. A source aware of the situation disclosed, “Most of these babus and cops hold important positions in the state govt. We will scrutinise whether benefits were exchanged for trading this information since no articles related to the documents were published.”
On 14th October, officials were shocked to learn that Ahmedabad police commissioner G S Malik had personally questioned Langa a day earlier. A source mentioned, “This is unusual in a GST fraud case. Malik is learnt to have grilled Langa over his information trade-offs with bureaucrats, top cops and businessmen.”
Meanwhile, on 17th October, the ED searched several cities in Gujarat as part of the investigation. According to reports, the raids occurred at roughly 23 locations in the cities of Rajkot, Junagadh, Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, and Veraval following the filing of a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). After receiving a complaint from the Central GST regarding the scam involving shell companies set up to defraud the government through fictitious input tax credits and fraudulent transactions, the Ahmedabad Police Crime Branch filed the First Information Report in the case against a number of individuals and entities.
On 9th October, Langa and three other individuals were taken into custody and placed under 10-day police custody after 13 businesses and their owners were accused of committing an input tax credit (ITC) scam. The allegations were made in response to a complaint submitted by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI). Manoj, Langa’s cousin, and Vinu Patel were the names on file for DA Enterprise, one of the companies that was the subject of the inquiry. Later, Langa’s wife took Patel’s place as a partner in the company. Four more people were taken into custody in relation to the case on 13th October.
