Businessman Piyush Jain has reportedly been arrested a day after the Goods And Services Tax (GST) authorities recovered close to Rs. 200 crore in their raids at multiple locations in Kanpur.
Officials had carried out raids at the office of Trimurti Fragrance Pvt Ltd, which manufactures Shikhar Pan Masala and tobacco products, and the office and godowns of Ganpati Road Carriers, in Kanpur on Friday.
“…huge amount of cash, wrapped in paper, has been found. The process of counting of cash has been initiated with the help of officials of State Bank of India, Kanpur… The total amount of cash is expected to be in excess of Rs 150 crore,” Indian Express had quoted a statement from the GST officials.
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) chairman Vivek Johri had told news agency ANI, “A case of fake invoicing and fake credit was reported…DGGI Ahmedabad team started searches on the manufacturer of pan masala and their supplier. A transporter and a fragrance company of Unnao were also searched as they were providers of fragrance to the pan masala company.”
#WATCH | As per Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs chairman Vivek Johri, about Rs 150 crores have been seized in the raid, counting still underway.
Visuals from businessman Piyush Jain's residence in Kanpur. pic.twitter.com/u7aBTJhGxW
— ANI (@ANI) December 24, 2021
The raids on Friday had triggered a war of words between the ruling BJP and the Samajwadi Party with both accusing each other of having links with Jain, who is the owner of Trimurti Fragrance, which is the parent organisation manufacturing Shikhar Pan Masala and tobacco-based products.