Andhra Pradesh: Andhra Pradesh Police has arrested a former director of a private company and son of a senior TDP leader on charges of defrauding the state government of crores of rupees by using shell companies, fake bills and other illegal means. The accused is the son of senior Telugu Desam Party leader and former Andhra Pradesh agriculture minister P Pulla Rao and his arrest has taken on a political flavor in the southern state.
Serious allegations of fraud
Machavaram police under Vijayawada Police Commissionerate on February 29 arrested former Avexa director P Sarath on charges of making profits from the state government through contracts, the police officer said. Vijayawada Police Commissioner Kanthi Ratan Tata said, P Sarath, former director of Avexa company, has been arrested and produced in the court on February 29 for playing a key role and siphoning off the maximum amount through these illegal transactions. He said that the court sent Sarath to judicial custody.
APSDRI lodged complaint
On February 25, the Andhra Pradesh State Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (APSDRI) lodged a complaint with the Machavaram police alleging that Avexa Corporation Pvt Ltd had resorted to fraudulent transactions and wrongly credited government payments to its account. According to the APSDRI complaint, the police commissioner said Avexa created fake invoices for GST payments and availed input tax credit (ITC).
Input tax credit taken by making fake bills
According to APSDRI’s complaint, the company used 12 shell companies to claim input tax credit to siphon off money from the government, prompting DGGI to issue a show cause notice proposing a penalty of Rs 16 crore. Furthermore, the GST registrations of those 12 shell companies were canceled in 2021.
Telugu Desam Party leader Pulla Rao arrested by police
