New Delhi, Sep 19 (PTI) The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has arrested two more accused in the alleged scam of fraudulent GST refunds in the Trade and Taxes department of the Delhi government, officials on Thursday said.

The accused have been identified as Manoj Kumar, an accountant, and Vishal Kumar, a chartered accountant, they said.

Also Read | 'Lawrence Bishnoi Ko Bheju Kya?': 2 Arrested For 'Threatening' Salman Khan's Father Salim Khan During Morning Walk, Claim It Was a Prank.

"The arrested accused persons are recipients of major amounts from fake GST refunds and remained closely associated in seeking fake GST refunds," said Joint Commissioner of Police (ACB) Madhur Verma.

The ACB had already arrested one GSTO, three advocates, two transporters and one proprietor of fake firms on August 12 in the first phase of the arrest, the officer said.

Also Read | White Tigress ‘Riddhi’ Death News: Glory of Madhya Pradesh’s Wildlife Found Dead at Van Vihar in Bhopal.

In September 2021, suspecting foul play in issuing refunds to the fake firms, the GST department (Vigilance) sent a special team for physical verification of these firms. All these firms were found to be non-existent and non-functional during verification, Verma said.

Based on the inquiry, the matter was referred to the ACB for a detailed probe.

During investigation, it was found that fraudulent GST refunds were approved by the GST officer without verification of input tax credit, a crucial instrument in the identification of bogus refunds, incurring a direct loss to the government exchequer, the officials said.

In the alleged crime, fraudulent GST refunds worth Rs 54 crore were granted to the fake firms and forged invoices amounting to Rs 718 crore have surfaced, the officer said.

Around 500 non-existent firms were doing business activities, including export of medical items on papers, just to claim bogus GST refunds, he said.

The ACB had arrested total nine accused till now and further investigation to unearth the role and culpability of other GST officials, proprietors and transporters is under progress, the officer added.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)