New Delhi: The Income Tax department carried out search operations on 42 locations and exposed a large network of individuals running a Rs 500 Crore racket of entry operation and generation of huge cash through fake billing.
On October 26(Monday), the department raided the 42 premises across Delhi- NCR, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and seized cash over Rs 2.3 crore and jewellery worth Rs 2.8 crore.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement, “The search has led to the seizure of evidence exposing the entire network of the entry operators, intermediaries, cash handlers, the beneficiaries and the firms and companies involved. So far, documents evidencing accommodation entries of more than Rs 500 crore have already been found and seized.”
The CBDT further stated that several shell entities were used by the searched entry operators for layering of unaccounted money and cash withdrawals against fake bills issued and unsecured loans given.
“The personal staff had been made dummy partners of these shell entities and all bank accounts were managed and controlled by these entry operators. Statements of such entry operators, their dummy partners/employees, the cash handlers as well as the covered beneficiaries have also been recorded clearly validating the entire money trail,” the statement said.
“The searched persons were also found to be the 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,” it added.
The CBDT said that the beneficiaries have been found to have made huge investments in real estate properties in prime cities and in fixed deposits to the tune of several hundred crores, and added that 17 bank lockers were found during the searches, which are yet to be operated.
(With ANI inputs)