On Monday this week, the Income Tax Department has conducted search and seizure actions in about 42 premises spread across Delhi- NCR, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Goa. These search operations got conducted on a big network of individuals running the racket of entry operation and generating enormous amounts of cash through fake billing.
The shreds of evidence were found in the search operations which were exposing the entire network of the entry operators, intermediaries, cash handlers, the beneficiaries, and the firms and companies involved. The evidence documents having the accommodation entries of more than Rs.500 Crores was discovered and has been seized by the I-T department.
The Entry Operators that are being investigated had been using several shell entities/firms for the layering of unaccounted money and cash withdrawals against fake bills issued and unsecured loans given. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) officials have said that the personal staff/employees/associates had been made dummy directors and partners of these shell entities and all bank accounts were managed and controlled by these entry operators.
The statements of such entry operators, their dummy partners/employees, the cash handlers as well as the covered beneficiaries were also recorded, clearly validating the entire money trail.
“The searched persons were also found to be controller and beneficial owners of several bank accounts and lockers, opened in names of their family members and trusted employees and shell entities, which they were managing in collusion with the bank officials, through the digital media. The same are being further investigated,” said the CBDT in a statement released on Tuesday.
CBDT further said that it was found that the beneficiaries had made huge investments in real estate properties in prime cities and fixed deposits to the tune of several hundred crores of rupees.
Jewellery worth Rs.2.89 Crores and cash amounts of Rs.2.37 Crores were found along with 17 bank lockers, which are yet to get operated, in the search operations.
Further investigations are still in progress.
With Warm Regards,
CL Bureau.
