A day after the investigation wing of the I-T department searched 30 properties of a firm, disproportionate income to the tune of Rs 5.71 crore has been seized till Thursday evening.
The department first suspected foul play when a land deal of Rs 234 crore was struck by a Kolkata-based firm along with Sriganganagar-based businessmen some time ago.
Searches were on at Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Sriganganagar, New Delhi, Haryana, Gwalior and Kolkata.
“Till Thursday evening, we have seized nearly Rs 5.71 crore which is the biggest seizure in recent times,” said Sanjiv Singh, additional director, Income-Tax (investigation).
He added that the booty may go up as the seizures were on.
I-T sleuths said when the group had invested Rs 234 crore to acquire a prime plot in Jaipur through auction in September 2012, they suspected foul play.
“When we investigated the credentials of the Kolkata-based company, it was found that there was no existence of the company. The address stated by the company in the land deal to the JDA was even not verified. That gave us an idea on checking the source of the money invested in the land deal,” said a senior officer of I-T (Investigation) who was monitoring the raids.
“The source of money utilized in this land deal is also being investigated,” he added.
For the I-T sleuths who were conducting raids simultaneously in other cities, it was not a cakewalk. “We even got phone calls from politicians as the group is well-connected in Madhya Pradesh,” said an official.
The group is into road construction, real estate, sand and marble mining among several other deals.
“The group was also involved in toll collection and a substantial portion of the toll collected was not audited or mentioned in the records and hence cash was siphoned off by partners/directors of the company,” an official said.
src: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Rs-5-71-crore-seized-by-I-T-from-searches-at-30-properties/articleshow/21155131.cms