Enforcement Directorate (ED) has carried out search operations at 10 premises across West Bengal, Manipur and Jharkhand in connection with a 100 Crore rupees fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) fraud. This operation was conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The agency initiated an investigation on the basis of an FIR registered based on a complaint filed by CGST and Central Excise, Itanagar Commissionerate, against Siddhi Vinayak trade merchant of Arunachal Pradesh, which was found to be non-existent at its declared address. The agency said that the investigation revealed that the firm had fraudulently issued a total of 15 thousand 258 fake invoices having a taxable value of more than 658 crore rupees within a span of six months, to 58 recipient entities registered across 11 different States, during the period October 2023 to March 2024.