Ahmedabad CID Books Aam Janmat Party, 6 Others in ₹843-Crore Bogus Political Donation Racket

Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad CID (Crime) has registered an FIR against the Aam Janmat Party, its national president, treasurer, chartered accountants and other alleged intermediaries in connection with an alleged ₹843-crore donation racket involving fraudulent financial transactions and the suspected misuse of political donations.

According to the FIR registered on October 15, the accused allegedly conspired to receive donations from taxpayers through the party’s bank accounts, route the funds through various firms using fabricated bills and financial records, and return the money to donors in cash after deducting commissions.

The case names seven accused: Aam Janmat Party; its national president Gaurav Y. Mishra; national treasurer Dharmendra Jivanprakash Vaishnav; chartered accountant Mayursinh Chandansinh Rathod; Dineshkumar Kapurchand Jain; chartered accountant Pranav Rajeshkumar Shah, who audited the party’s accounts for the financial year 2023-24; and chartered accountant Akash Piyushbhai Soni.

The FIR alleges that the accused received a total of ₹843.97 crore through the party’s bank accounts during the financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24. The money was allegedly transferred to firms named Pranit Corporation, Hesaz Corporation, Ayaan Enterprise and Shree Ramdev Enterprise against purported purchases of goods and services. The complaint alleges that fabricated bills were prepared to make these transactions appear legitimate.

According to the complaint, the funds were subsequently withdrawn in cash, with intermediaries allegedly retaining commissions before handing over the remaining amount to party functionaries. The party’s office-bearers allegedly returned the cash to the original donors after deducting their commissions, while recording the transactions as legitimate donations and expenses in the party’s accounts.

The complainant has alleged that the transactions were designed to create false financial records and mislead the Income Tax Department and other government authorities. The alleged arrangement also involved the use of fabricated documents and accounting entries to present the transactions as genuine, the FIR states.

The complaint estimates that the alleged racket caused a loss of approximately ₹250 crore to the government exchequer, equivalent to 30% of the donations involved, according to the complainant’s calculation.

The FIR was registered at Ahmedabad’s CID (Crime) police station under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Sections 61, 316(2), 318(4), 336(3), 338, 339 and 340(2). DeshGujarat