Friendship Turns Fraud: CA Allegedly Cheats Mumbai IT Executive of Rs 4.69 Crore

The Trombay police in Mumbai have filed a case against a chartered accountant from Lucknow, Rashid Rais Siddiqui, for cheating his friend. He is accused of misusing a GST account that was opened in his friend’s name, which led to a possible tax loss of Rs 4.69 crore.

The complainant, Nasir Hussain Sheikh, is 36 years old and works as an IT support executive in BKC. He lives in Cheeta Camp, Trombay, with his family. He also owns a mobile phone shop called New India Enterprises, which is run by his elder brother.

In February 2018, Nasir planned to start an online mobile-selling website called Hipcart, for which GST registration was required. In 2016, while visiting Aminabad in Lucknow, Nasir met Rashid through a mutual friend. Rashid said he was a chartered accountant. Over time, they became friends.

Siddiqui offered to help Nasir register his business for GST. On March 5, 2018, he asked Nasir for his Aadhaar card, PAN card, and electricity bill. Nasir gave him these documents. On March 13, 2018, Siddiqui told Nasir that the GST account had been opened and sent the GST certificate on WhatsApp.

Nasir started an online business, but it did not succeed. He made no sales and had no income from it. In June 2018, Siddiqui told him that he needed to file GST returns. Since there were no business activities, Nasir decided to close the GST account.

Siddiqui took Rs 3,000 from Nasir to close the account and promised to give him a confirmation slip. But he never gave the slip. After that, Siddiqui stopped answering Nasir’s phone calls.

In February 2020, Nasir received a notice from the GST office in Belapur, Navi Mumbai. The notice said that he had to pay Rs 28 lakh in GST dues. Nasir was shocked because he had never done any business through that account.

Nasir immediately went to the GST office and submitted a written complaint. He explained that there were no transactions and that Siddiqui had closed the account. His friend Yusuf Sheikh and his brother went with him for support.

Later, Nasir came to know that Siddiqui had cheated many people. Siddiqui had opened GST accounts in their names and used them for illegal activities. He was involved in fraud worth crores of rupees and was arrested in several cases, according to the FIR.

GST Superintendent Sunil Aher summoned Nasir on June 15, 2023, under Section 108 of the Customs Act. During this examination, Nasir’s bank accounts, including those with Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank, were also checked for the past five years. However, there were no suspicious transactions in his accounts.

Apart from this, in August 2024, Nasir received another notice from the GST department. The notice claimed that fraudulent transactions had occurred through his GST account during 2017-18 and 2018-19, and that he needed to pay a penalty of Rs 4,69,10,562. During a personal hearing in November 2024, Nasir explained the situation again and requested that action be taken against Rashid Siddiqui, who he believed was responsible.

Later, Nasir found that his ICICI Bank salary account had a negative entry of Rs 4.69 crore and that the account had been frozen by the GST authorities. Following this, he filed a formal complaint at Tromboy police station.

Based on Nasir’s complaint, the police have registered a case under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act against Rashid Siddiqui and have started further investigation.