The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted searches at the premises of a Mumbai-based businessman and his associates for allegedly evading customs duty worth Rs 190 crore by creating fake export documents.
According to officers, the searches were carried out in connection with a case involving M/s Titan Sea and Air Services Pvt Ltd and others, based on a first information report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Delhi, news agency PTI reported.
The ED said raids were conducted on Wednesday at the residential and business premises of Vikas Garg, identified as a key figure in the alleged customs duty evasion, along with several of his employees.
Investigations revealed that entities were incorporated outside India in the names of Garg’s employees to facilitate imports and exports, PTI reported. Officers alleged that fake export documents, including invoices and shipping bills, were created to falsely show that goods were being exported to Nepal and Bangladesh.
However, the goods were actually sold in the domestic market, enabling the accused to evade customs duty running into crores, the agency claimed.
The ED continues to probe the financial trail and identify beneficiaries involved in the large-scale customs duty evasion racket, PTI reported.
ED raids 13 locations in Mumbai, Thane in Rajendra Lodha fraud case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday reportedly conducted search operations at 13 locations across Mumbai and Thane — including Worli and Dombivli — in connection with an ongoing money laundering probe involving former Lodha Developers Ltd director Rajendra Lodha.
The action reportedly stems from an FIR filed by Lodha Developers (now Macrotech Developers Ltd), which has alleged that Rajendra Lodha misused his position between 2013 and 2025 to defraud the company of around Rs 85 crore through unauthorised land transactions, undervalued plot sales, and bogus acquisitions.
According to ED sources, the searches were aimed at tracing the alleged proceeds of crime and identifying entities suspected to be linked to the transactions under scrutiny. Rajendra Lodha was earlier arrested by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch in September in connection with the same case.
A total of ten persons, including Rajendra Lodha, have been named as accused in the case. Sources said that the ED teams searched residential and business premises at multiple sites — including Worli, Dombivli, and Thane — until late evening.
Officials said the investigation is being carried out in coordination with other agencies to trace the financial trail and locate assets allegedly purchased using diverted funds.
(With PTI inputs)
