‘1,285 cr’ fraud unearthed by Delhi CGST Dept, accused sold Apple electronic products

Arrested accused Kapil Arora made sales of Rs 1,285 cr worth of iPhones & laptops between 2018-19 and 2024-25 but showed tax authorities sales of Rs 22 crore, say Delhi authorities.

Representative Image (Image source: Pexels)

New Delhi: New Delhi’s Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Department has unearthed a fraud, allegedly worth Rs 1,285 crore, which involves the smuggling and sale of high-value consumer goods, such as Apple iPhones and associated electronics, and made an arrest in the case.

The arrested accused, Kapil Arora, ran two firms—Arora Communication and Cellphone Badlo. He was at his office in Karol Bagh on 22 October when authorities searched the premises and recovered Rs 13 lakh in cash. The authorities then extended the search to his home, where they recovered another two crores from a locker in a bedroom, according to documents seen by ThePrint.

On 23 October, Arora appeared at the Delhi North C.R. Building, ITO, before the investigating authorities, who arrested him at 6.30 pm. According to the documents requesting Arora’s judicial remand, the authorities, on going through Arora’s laptop, found sales worth approximately Rs 1,285 crores between 2018-19 and 2024-25.

However, according to the GST returns filed, the accused showed an income of roughly Rs 22 crore. The authorities have now accused Arora of suppressing his sales to an extent that allowed the evasion of GST of roughly Rs 200 crore.

According to the authorities, Arora has admitted to executing most sales in cash to evade GST. The cash seized on 22 October from his office and house was allegedly from his cash earnings from the sales of high-value electronic goods, namely iPhones.

As investigations proceeded, authorities allegedly unearthed hawala transactions between Arora and an associate in Dubai, who has been identified as a key player in the alleged illegal import of electronic goods and money laundering via hawala channels.

Investigators have alleged that Arora’s firms were a front for iPhone smuggling and sale. The iPhones, imported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China, were sold through unregistered transactions from Arora’s shop at Karol Bagh.

The authorities have found a total inventory of 230 high-value goods from the store, which they have seized. The goods included 154 mobile phones, most iPhones and some OnePlus and Google Pixel models; 22 laptops; five sunglasses; 10 AirPod pairs; and 39 iPad tablets.

The mobile phone, owned by Arora for personal use, has also been seized by the authorities as they continue their investigation into the case.

Arora has been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days by an order dated 23 October. The authorities will produce Arora before the judiciary on 6 November 2024.

(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)