Bizman Arrested by ED in Rs 263 Cr Fake Tax Refund Scam Case

New Delhi: A businessman named Rajesh Batreja was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case connected to a Rs 263 crore Income Tax Refund fraud case.

Batreja was allegedly instrumental in diverting Rs 55.5 crore proceeds of crime (PoC) outside the country and round-tripping a part of it to two entities in India under the guise of investment from Dubai.

Batreja was arrested on May 16 and a PMLA court in Mumbai h sent him to custody till May 22.

The ED had earlier arrested former income tax inspector Tanaji Mandal Adhikari and businessmen Bhushan Patil and Rajesh Shetty in this case.

The ED initiated the investigation based on an FIR registered by the CBI under multiple sections of the IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) against Tanaji Mandal Adhikari and others for fraudulently generating and issuance of tax deducted at source (TDS) claims from the Income Tax Department to the tune of Rs. 263.95 crore.

The ED alleged that Batreja helped Tanaji in diverting PoC of Rs. 55.50 crore into three shell companies to convert the amount into cash for sending it outside India via hawala channels.

The investigation also revealed that Batreja also invested a part of the amount in two Indian companies under the guise of share investment by making cross-border remittances, the ED said.