GST scam case: Bombay HC grants protection to Sunil Biyani
What's the story
Sunil Biyani, the Non-Executive Director of Future Group, has been granted protection from arrest by the Bombay High Court. The order was passed in connection with a ₹1,200 crore Goods and Services Tax (GST) scam case. The court said that Biyani won't be arrested for a week from the date of intimation of such order.
Legal proceedings
No order passed for Biyani's arrest
Justice NR Borkar of the Bombay HC found that no order has been passed by the Central GST authority for Biyani's arrest. The ruling came after Biyani moved the High Court against a summons issued by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI). The case pertains to a large-scale circular input tax credit and fake invoicing scheme with a total GST impact of over ₹200 crore.
Scam details
Case involves ₹1,208.77cr in overseas transfers
The DGGI's affidavit revealed that the case also involves ₹1,208.77 crore in overseas transfers. Of these, nearly ₹50 crore is an ineligible input tax credit and ₹217.57 crore is GST payable. Biyani was a director at Alphaneon Studioz and Pindflix Entertainment, where almost ₹664.70 crore of these remittances were allegedly sent to.
Defense strategy
Biyani claimed he was falsely implicated
In his pre-arrest bail plea, Biyani claimed he had resigned via email from the relevant company in July 2023. He alleged that Alphaneon falsely implicated him through fake corporate documents. Despite offering to cooperate and respond in writing to the summons, he said he was dragged into the investigation without any involvement in the alleged fraud.