Sachin Sawant, an Indian Revenue Services (IRS) officer and Additional Commissioner of Customs and GST, has come under scrutiny following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a corruption and disproportionate assets case. Sawant’s arrest has raised questions about his background and alleged involvement in illicit activities.

Who is Sachin Sawant?

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Sawant, a member of the 2008 batch of IRS officers, has had a varied career within the government. He served as the deputy director of the ED in Mumbai Zone 2 between 2017 and 2019, during which time he was responsible for overseeing financial investigations and enforcing laws against money laundering and economic offenses.

Later, in 2020, Sawant took on the role of officer on special duty to a senior minister in the previous state government, further solidifying his position within the government hierarchy. However, his career took a different turn when he joined the Goods and Services Tax (GST) department in Lucknow.

The recent developments surrounding Sawant have cast a shadow on his professional reputation. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) initiated a disproportionate assets case against him based on a corruption complaint. The investigation revealed a significant increase in the assets of the Sawant family from Rs 1.4 lakh in 2011 to Rs 2.1 crore in 2022, raising suspicions about the source of these funds.

The ED’s search operation at Sawant’s residences in Mumbai and Lucknow, as well as the homes of his relatives, resulted in his arrest. The probe uncovered a questionable transaction involving the purchase of a flat in Navi Mumbai. The flat was registered in the name of a company called Seven Hills Constrowell India, where Sawant’s father held a position as a director. It was discovered that funds for the purchase were routed through multiple loans, personal accounts, and current accounts belonging to Sawant’s family. Additionally, a substantial amount of cash, around Rs 1 crore, was allegedly involved in the acquisition.

Further investigations revealed that Seven Hills Constrowell India had its registered office in a modest chawl in Dadar (East), and the company filed only one income-tax return in 2018-19, indicating a negligible income and a loss of Rs 6,800. Curiously, the mobile number provided in the income-tax return was linked to Sawant himself.