MP Police’s cyber cell arrests 6 for defrauding companies of export promotion benefit

The cyber cell of the Madhya Pradesh police in Indore on Sunday arrested six people for fraudulently transferring duty credit scrip (DCS) to different companies in export-import business during the lockdown.

The cyber cell police said they had received complaints from a few companies in Indore that their DCS, an export promotion benefit given by Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) which can be used for payment of customs duty, have been transferred to someone else by using digital signature.

In the investigation police found that the fraud was executed by 12 agents of certain companies. Six of them have been arrested while six are absconding. Efforts are on to nab them, police said.

In the investigation police found that agents transferred DCS to 13 companies based in Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra and Bareli in UP.

Jitendra Singh, superintendent of police of the cyber cell in Indore, said, “In September and October, directors of a pharma and automobile companies lodged complaints that their DCS worth ₹2 crores were exploited by some other companies by using their digital signatures fraudulently.

“In the investigation, cyber cell police suspected the role of two Indore-based companies. Police arrested the directors of the companies Ashutosh Shrivastava, 36, Himanshu Jain, 42, Manoj Lunkad, 34, and Abhishek Thakur, 24, all residents of Indore,” said the SP.

“They confessed to the crime and said an agent Rajesh Jagtap, 52, a resident of Pune, used a digital signature of the complainant companies to sell the DCS to other companies. He came to know about the details of DCS through the website of DGFT. Jagtap transferred the commission in the accounts of the two Indore-based companies,” he added.

Jagtap was arrested from Pune. Singh said it was a big nexus and mainly being operated from Maharashtra.

“Many renowned companies purchased DCS issued to some other companies to save customs duties on import. We are investigating the matter to know the worth of customs duty was saved by these companies by using DCS,” said the SP.

The cyber cell police have sent notices to all the 13 companies which purchased DCS from the agent.