📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Raphael Tuck & Sons, London
Crime
Fake GST Number Used to Secure ₹10 Lakh MSME Loan in Bhopal, 5 Arrested
✍️ Amar Ujala · Madhya Pradesh
🗓 18 Sep 2026, 03:31 PM
👁 14
Police in Bhopal have filed FIRs against five individuals, including a bank manager, for securing a ₹10 lakh MSME loan using forged documents and a bogus GST number. The promised machinery never reached the victim.
Bhopal police have opened a criminal case after discovering that a group of five persons, among them a bank manager, used counterfeit GST registration and forged paperwork to obtain a ₹10 lakh loan meant for micro, small and medium enterprises. The fraud was uncovered when the applicant failed to receive the equipment that had been promised as collateral for the loan.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) lodged first‑information reports (FIRs) against all five suspects, alleging forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy. Investigators say the fake GST number was fabricated to satisfy the bank's eligibility criteria for MSME financing, allowing the conspirators to bypass standard verification processes.
According to the complaint filed by the aggrieved borrower, the loan was disbursed but the machinery that was supposed to be delivered as part of the agreement never arrived. The victim approached the bank, which then referred the matter to the EOW. The police have seized relevant documents and are probing the bank's internal controls.
Authorities have warned that similar scams could target other borrowers seeking government‑backed MSME credit, urging lenders to tighten due‑diligence and verify GST details directly with the tax authorities.
The case underscores growing concerns over fraudulent use of digital identifiers in financial transactions and highlights the need for stricter oversight of loan approval mechanisms in the state.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) lodged first‑information reports (FIRs) against all five suspects, alleging forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy. Investigators say the fake GST number was fabricated to satisfy the bank's eligibility criteria for MSME financing, allowing the conspirators to bypass standard verification processes.
According to the complaint filed by the aggrieved borrower, the loan was disbursed but the machinery that was supposed to be delivered as part of the agreement never arrived. The victim approached the bank, which then referred the matter to the EOW. The police have seized relevant documents and are probing the bank's internal controls.
Authorities have warned that similar scams could target other borrowers seeking government‑backed MSME credit, urging lenders to tighten due‑diligence and verify GST details directly with the tax authorities.
The case underscores growing concerns over fraudulent use of digital identifiers in financial transactions and highlights the need for stricter oversight of loan approval mechanisms in the state.