NHAI Toll Fraud: ED Finds Unauthorised Apps at 100 Plazas, Raids 14 Premises

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has uncovered what it says is a wider network of alleged fraudulent toll collection involving around 100 highway toll plazas across the country, where unauthorised software applications were reportedly used to collect toll from vehicles without FASTag and keep those transactions outside the official accounting system of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

The agency conducted searches on September 2 at 14 premises across Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal and Delhi-NCR. The searches resulted in the seizure of about ₹1.03 crore in cash, account books, bank documents and digital devices, while eight bank accounts were frozen. The ED said forensic examination of seized devices indicated that the alleged mechanism was used at around 100 toll plazas, with digital records showing unauthorised toll receipts involving crores of rupees.

At the centre of the probe are two applications identified as ‘Mobdata’ and ‘Any’. According to the ED, the apps were developed to facilitate toll collection from vehicles without FASTag, while online portals were maintained to monitor the collections. The agency alleges that the applications helped generate fake receipts and conceal transactions from NHAI’s official system, potentially causing revenue loss to the highway authority.

The case traces back to the Atraila Shiv Ghulam Toll Plaza in Mirzapur, where the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force conducted a raid in January 2025. The subsequent investigation alleged that separate software was operating alongside NHAI’s authorised system and could generate receipts resembling official toll slips. Investigators alleged that only part of certain non-FASTag collections was entered into the NHAI system, with the remainder allegedly diverted. One court record also contains an allegation of around ₹45,000 being embezzled daily at the Mirzapur plaza.

The earlier investigation identified 42 toll plazas allegedly linked to software installed by one accused across several states. This figure should be distinguished from the ED’s current finding of around 100 plazas, which is based on its broader forensic examination.

The Mirzapur case also prompted NHAI action. In March 2025, the authority debarred 14 user-fee collection agencies for two years and said performance securities worth more than ₹100 crore were forfeited over contractual violations.

The ED registered its PMLA case after taking cognisance of the January 2025 FIR and is now examining the wider network of toll operators, intermediaries, software developers and financial beneficiaries.

The ₹1.03 crore seized in the latest searches is not the alleged total scam amount. The overall suspected revenue loss and the financial trail are still being investigated. The case could also prompt greater scrutiny of software controls, transaction reconciliation and non-FASTag collections across India’s increasingly digital tolling network.