CBI searches premises of Customs Commissioner in graft case

CBI today carried out searches at nine locations in Delhi and NCR, including the premises of Commissioner, Customs of Inland Container Depot in connection with a case of alleged cheating and corruption believed to be linked to dubious remittances to the tune of Rs 8,000 crore.
The case relates to alleged fraudulent exports worth Rs 8,000 crore made by businessman Sahdev Gupta in 2013-14 to Hong Kong and Dubai, CBI sources said, adding, it was probed by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.
It is alleged that garments purportedly exported were over invoiced to claim inflated duty draw back, the sources said.

The DRI during its probe allegedly found that companies to whom the exports were claimed to have been made denied giving any such orders whereas Rs 8,000 crore were received by Gupta in his accounts.
Based on its investigation, the DRI allegedly asked Customs Commissioner Atul Dixit, 1988-batch officer, and the then Deputy Commissioner Nalin Kumar to block duty draw back claim of Rs 300 crore presumably made by Gupta.
The CBI sources said despite objections from the DRI, the officers allegedly delayed the process and allowed Rs 74 crore to be remitted to Gupta's account.

They said the agency is probing alleged quid pro quo between Gupta and Customs officers who did not act on the recommendations of the DRI.

The sources said the searches were carried out at seven places here and one each in Gurgaon and Greater Noida at the premises of Dixit, Kumar and Gupta.
They said the case relates to alleged cheating, criminal conspiracy and abuse of official position to benefit the businessman in his fraudulent export thereby causing loss to the exchequer to the tune of Rs 74 crore.
The searches were carried out at Delhi's Mehrauli residence and office of Gupta, Pandara Road residence of the Commissioner, Paschim Vihar residence of Deputy Commissioner and two Customs agents Vijay Raghavan and Rahul Gupta who allegedly held benami properties of Dixit and Gupta, the sources said.

The office of Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Tughalakabad was also searched, they said.