Hyderabad CCS Books CA Over Rs 465 Crore Foreign Remittance Fraud

The Hyderabad Central Crime Station (CCS) Detective Department has registered a criminal case against a chartered accountant and others for allegedly facilitating unauthorised outward foreign remittances of more than Rs 464.8 crore through two shell entities.

The case was registered on August 22 following an official complaint lodged by G Krishna Rao, IRS, Deputy Director of Income Tax (Investigation), FAIU-1, Hyderabad. The First Information Report (FIR) names chartered accountant Hari Shankar Reddy Renati and others as accused in the financial fraud.

According to the investigation team, the alleged illicit remittances took place across two financial years, 2021-22 and 2022-23. The Income Tax department had previously conducted searches at the premises of the accused on August 18. Following a detailed verification of the findings and documents recovered during the search operation, the criminal case was formally initiated by the CCS.

The investigation centres on the improper issuance of Form 15CB certificates. Form 15CB is a mandatory tax determination certificate issued by a chartered accountant under Rule 37BB of the Income Tax Rules for entities making foreign remittances exceeding Rs 5 lakh in a financial year.

The accused chartered accountant allegedly issued these certificates for two firms—Clickwin Techno Solutions LLP, registered in Pune, Maharashtra, and Stockpile Softech Solutions Pvt Ltd, registered in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Investigators stated that the certificates were certified and released without conducting mandatory verifications of the entities' books of accounts, business agreements, or relevant supporting documentation required for outward cross-border transfers.