Itanagar, March 31 (NationPress) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally confiscated properties and assets totaling Rs 14.85 crore in Howrah and Hooghly in West Bengal, as well as in Guwahati, over a significant GST fraud scheme involving nearly Rs 100 crore, according to an official announcement made on Tuesday.

The ED, operating from its Itanagar Sub-Zonal Office, indicated that the seized assets comprise movable items, including a partner's shareholding in a firm named Ganesh International, valued at Rs 11.88 crore within a publicly listed company, alongside real estate owned by three other individuals.

This provisional asset attachment has been executed under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as per an order issued on March 30, addressing fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC) claims.

A charge sheet was filed on the same date against 15 individuals implicated in the issuance of bogus ITC, the ED confirmed.

The federal investigation stemmed from a First Information Report (FIR) lodged for scheduled crimes under multiple sections of the IPC, 1860.

Searches were conducted on January 20, 2026, at ten different locations across Arunachal Pradesh, Kolkata, Jharkhand, and Manipur, which led to the collection of various incriminating materials and recorded statements, as stated by the ED.

The investigation uncovered that the firm Siddhi Vinayak Trade Merchant is a fictitious shell company that fraudulently claimed fake ITC approximating Rs 99.31 crore by generating invoices without any actual goods being supplied, the ED disclosed.

The probe revealed that the counterfeit ITC was meticulously masked and funneled through a web of shell companies and non-existent entities, such as AC Enterprise, Riya Rishita Enterprise, and others, as detailed in the statement.

These companies were found to be dormant at their listed business addresses, and all summons sent to them went unanswered. The inquiry also indicated that these entities issued fraudulent invoices for various commodities, including cement, leather goods, electrical items, and iron-steel, with some admitting to non-existent transactions.

A thorough investigation into the transaction layering showed that Riya Rishita Enterprise, another non-existent entity, deceitfully availed of ITC and served as a conduit for the transfer of fictitious ITC.

Moreover, it was established that Ganesh International (now operating as Ganesh Infraworld Limited) under Vibhoar Agrawal, Phoenix Hydraulics controlled by Dileep Kumar Agrawal, Fama Marketing under Mrig Mrinal Dhawan, and Anjani Impex helmed by Dhaneswar Prasad Yadav, collectively received and utilized fraudulent ITC amounting to Rs 14.85 crore from these fictitious entities without any legitimate supply of goods, the statement revealed.

This fraudulent ITC was employed to settle GST obligations based on fabricated invoices and e-way bills.

The beneficiary entities displayed disproportionately high turnovers with little actual business activity, relying on fraudulent invoices and the illicit ITC generated. This clearly indicates a systematic approach to layering and laundering of Proceeds of Crime, the ED concluded.