The Noida Police (Sector 20) have made a significant breakthrough in the ongoing investigation into the Rs16,000 crore GST scam with the arrest of Anshul Goyal, a fugitive with a Rs25,000 reward on his head. The arrest was made early this morning following a tip-off that led to his detention. Goyal’s capture brings the total number of individuals arrested in the case to 45.
Confirming the arrest, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Shakti Mohan Awasthi stated that the authorities had also filed charge sheets against two other key suspects, Vikas Dabas and Kunal Mehta, in court just the day before. To date, charge sheets have been filed against 38 people linked to the scam, with investigations still ongoing and more arrests anticipated.
The scam, which first came to light in June 2023, involved an intricate network of fraudsters who exploited the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system. The accused had fraudulently obtained PAN and Aadhaar cards of unsuspecting individuals from across the country. These stolen identities were used to establish nearly 4,000 fake companies, which then falsely claimed Input Tax Credit (ITC), resulting in a loss of over Rs16,000 crore to the exchequer.
Since the scandal broke, several arrests have been made, including Deepak, Vinita, Akash Saini, Vishal, Mohammad Yaseen, Rajeev, Atul Segar, and Ashwini. Police officials are continuing their investigations and are actively pursuing other suspects involved in the massive fraud.
