Mumbai Police arrested a share broker for allegedly conducting illegal 'dabba trading' worth ₹4,672 crore over three months, evading over ₹1.95 crore in taxes and fees.

Mumbai broker arrested for conducting 'dabba trading' worth ₹4,672 crore over three months, evades over ₹1.95 crore in taxes

The Mumbai Police arrested a 45-year-old share broker on Thursday who has been allegedly engaged in illegal 'dabba trading' with transactions amounting to ₹4,672 crore over a span of three months, according to an official.

'Dabba trading' refers to the illicit practice of trading shares outside the regulated stock exchange platform, facilitated by operators running such trading rings.

The accused, identified as Jatin Sureshbhai Mehta, was taken into custody from Kandivali in suburban Mumbai on Tuesday. It is alleged that Mehta evaded various taxes, including security transaction tax, capital gains tax, state government stamp duty charges, SEBI turnover fees, and stock exchange turnover revenue, amounting to over ₹1.95 crore, thereby causing financial loss to the government, reported PTI.

The broker is said to have conducted unauthorised share trading outside the stock exchange without a valid license. The police official revealed that Mehta's turnover between March 23 and June 20, 2023, reached ₹4,672 crore.

Acting on specific information, a team from the Mumbai Crime Branch, along with officials from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), conducted a raid at the share broker's office in Mahaveer Nagar, Kandivali, on Tuesday. The operation resulted in the seizure of ₹50,000 cash, five mobile phones, a laptop, a tablet, a paper shredder, and a pen drive, along with crucial documents.

Further investigation revealed that the broker had engaged in illegal share trading, evading taxes and fees amounting to more than ₹1.95 crore. 

The accused has been arrested and is facing charges under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of the Indian Penal Code as well as provisions of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act.

The case remains under investigation as authorities continue to gather evidence in the matter.

(With inputs from PTI)

Mumbai broker arrested for 'dabba trading' worth ₹ 4,672 crore in 3 months, evades over ₹ 1.95 crore in taxes.