Rs 1,000 Crore liquor scam shakes Tamil Nadu: ED exposes distillery-bottling nexus!

In a massive corruption reproach, the Enforcement Directorate( ED) has uncovered a Rs 1,000 crore fiscal fraud involving distilleries and bottle- making companies supplying liquor to the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Ltd( Tasmac).

ED cracks down on Rs1,000 crore tasmac fiddle

According to ED, distilleries, in conspiracy with bottling enterprises, siphoned off finances through inflated charges and bogus purchases, channelizing lawless effects to Tasmac officers in exchange for economic force orders. Over four days starting March 6, ED investigators conducted expansive quests at Tasmac’s head office, depots, and the commercial services of major distilleries similar as SNJ, Kals, Accord, SAIFL, and Shiva Distillery, as well as demesne of crucial individualities involved.

Bogus billing and kickbacks 

ED’s disquisition revealed that bottling enterprises like Devi Bottles, Demitasse Bottles, and GLR Holding instinctively inflated deals numbers, enabling distilleries to route redundant payments. These payments were latterly withdrawn in cash and returned after abating commissions. Financial records were manipulated to cover up the lawless cash inflow, performing in methodical duty elusion and unaccounted gains.

Alloyed transport and bar licenses under scrutiny

The inquiry also exposed large- scale irregularities in Tasmac’s transport and bar licensing tenders. Despite an periodic transport budget of Rs 100 crore, the contract was awarded to a single endeavor under suspicious circumstances, with ED suspecting procedural violations in securing the tender.

also, bar licenses were allegedly handed out to individualities and enterprises that demanded obligatory GST and visage enrollments , raising enterprises about fraud and favoritism in the licensing process.

Times of corruption under investigation

The quests were touched off by multiple FIRs filed by the Directorate of Alert andAnti-Corruption( DVAC) from 2016 to 2021, citing colorful illegal conditioning similar as overcharging guests at Tasmac outlets beyond the Maximum Retail Price( MRP). Distilleries offering backhanders to secure large force orders elderly officers collecting backhanders for retail outlet operations, staff transfers, and bulletins.

Tasmac officers linked to the fiddle

While the ED has not yet specified the exact timeframe of the fraudulent conditioning, examinations are ongoing to determine the extent of the involvement of Tasmac officers, distillery workers, and associates linked to the fiddle . With the inquiry enhancing, the Tamil Nadu liquor reproach is shaping up to be one of the state’s biggest fiscal frauds, sparking demands for responsibility and stricter oversight in Tasmac operations.