Officers of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) questioned Mumbai-based Chartered Accountant Nilesh Yogesh Jigiowala inside Bhubaneswar's Jharpada Jail on Tuesday. The interrogation comes weeks after his arrest in connection with an alleged Rs 325 crore GST fraud, which investigators say may expand as deeper financial trails emerge.
DGGI Conducts Prison Interrogation After Judicial Remand
Sources confirmed that a special DGGI team entered the high-security jail premises with formal permission to continue questioning the accused, treating the case as an "ongoing and evolving financial investigation." Jigiowala, arrested on November 6 from his Mumbai residence by the DGGI Bhubaneswar zonal unit, had earlier been produced in court and remanded to judicial custody.
Officials questioned him inside the prison to gather additional evidence, verify suspicious transactions, and trace the flow of alleged fraudulent input tax credit (ITC) distributed through a nationwide network of companies.
Alleged Network Helping Big Firms Claim Fake ITC
Investigators allege that Jigiowala orchestrated a well-structured GST fraud using GST registrations of small traders and businesses to facilitate illegal ITC claims for multiple large corporate entities. According to DGGI sources, the network exploited genuine business IDs to generate fake invoices, bypass tax payments, and inflate ITC claims routed to bigger firms.
Preliminary intelligence suggests that at least 105 major companies may have benefited from the operation, with smaller GST accounts being used as entry points to generate illicit credits.
Probe May Exceed Rs 325 Crore as Transaction Trails Expand
DGGI officials said that seized documents, laptop data, and digital records are now being scrutinised to identify the full extent of the alleged racket. The current fraud estimate of Rs 325 crore may increase significantly as investigators trace transactions across multiple states.
Corporate beneficiaries identified during the probe are expected to be summoned by the Bhubaneswar zonal unit in the coming days. Internal audits of several companies have reportedly been initiated, raising the likelihood of more arrests linked to the suspected fake credit chain.
Investigation to Continue from Inside Jail
Sources added that further interrogations will continue inside Jharpada Jail as officers attempt to uncover the key handlers, shell entities, and cross-border financial routes involved in the alleged GST fraud.
The case is now being viewed as one of the more significant fake ITC crackdowns in recent years, with DGGI intensifying efforts to dismantle large-scale fraud networks exploiting India's GST framework.
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