• Notification Date: 17-07-2023
• Notification No: N/A

Former Income Tax Officer arrested in Fake Tax Refund Scam in Mumbai

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested a former income tax officer inspector and two others in connection with a Rs 263 crore Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) scam in Mumbai on Friday. 

Sources at the financial probe agency said the prime accused, Tanaji Mandal Adhikari, orchestrated the scam by generating fake TDS refunds to the tune of Rs 263 crore when he was posted in Mumbai. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) lodged a case against them. 

The accused allegedly transferred the amount across various bank accounts, including the accounts of his associates Bhushan Patil and Rajesh Shetty. The two other accused, Bhushan Anant Patil and Rajesh Shantaram Shetty, were also arrested. 

In January, the ED attached 32 immovable and movable properties in Maharashtra and Karnataka, totalling Rs 69.65 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). 

The attached assets include land, flats and luxury cars registered in the name of Bhushan Anant Patil, Rajesh Shetty, Sarika Shetty, former GST Inspector Kriti Verma and others. Earlier, freezing orders under the PMLA for 33 bank accounts of various entities having a balance of Rs 96.23 crore and seized cash of Rs 2.85 lakh were also issued in the matter. 

The ED initiated investigations under the PMLA based on an FIR registered by the CBI based on a written complaint by the Additional Director General (Vigilance)-4 from the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance about bogus issuance of refunds for the assessment years 2007-2008 and 2008-2009. 

Tanaji Mandal Adhikari, while working as a Senior Tax Assistant with the Income Tax department, had access to RSA tokens and the login credentials of his supervisory authorities. He had orchestrated the fraud in connivance with others in fraudulently generating TDS refunds exceeding Rs 263 crore. 

The CBI had also filed a charge sheet against Tanaji Mandal Adhikari, Bhushan Anant Patil, Rajesh Shantaram Shetty and others under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 66 (provides for legal recognition for transactions through electronic communication) of Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000.