As the Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is crying foul over the tax raid on his three aides, Income Tax (IT) Department is understood to have detected undisclosed assets worth hundreds of crores of rupees, as per reports.
These assets are in the form of undisclosed incomes, bogus loans, and investments in Benami properties.
IT department on December 18 had raided the premises of secretary and national spokesperson Rajeev Rai of the Samajwadi Party, RCL group promotor Manoj Yadav and Jainendra Yadav, a house staff turned OSD of Akhilesh Yadav, in suspected tax evasion cases.
The I-T department statement has not named the Samajwadi Party leaders. However, Indian Express reported citing sources that the details of the seizures are related to the recent raids on opposition leaders in Uttar Pradesh.
Unaccounted cash seized from Bengaluru based Trust
Rajeev Rai is also the chairman of AVK Group of Institutions that runs a chain of institutions in Bengaluru. He accused the BJP of using investigating agencies to falsely implicate its rivals. Rai threatened to sue media houses for publishing and airing unverified news against him. He said that the IT department recovered only Rs 17600 cash from his Mau residence and the total seizure from rest if his premise was less than Rs One Lakh.
दो दर्जन लॉकर सहित करोड़ों रूपये मिलने वाली
— Rajeev Rai (@RajeevRai) December 21, 2021
फ़र्ज़ी खबर चलाने वालों पर मानहानि का मुक़दमा करूँगा,@TV9Bharatvarsh @Live_Hindustan @brajeshlive @yadavakhilesh @samajwadiparty pic.twitter.com/FYzVPqPBEW
Referring IT department statement, the media reports have said that during searches against a Bengaluru-based Trust and its related entities unaccounted cash of Rs 1.12 crore was seized. Besides, there is evidence suggesting capitation fees of about Rs 10 crore was collected in cash.
The department has said that for the personal benefit of the trustees, Rs 80 Lakh cash was transferred to certain Kerala-based Trusts including Markazu Saquafathi Sunniyya Trust and Markaz Knowledge City Trust. Both have links with Gulf countries.
In the statement, the department said it had carried out search and seizure operations on December 18 on various persons and their business entities, engaged in the business of civil construction and real estate and running educational institutes in UP and Karnataka. The search and seizure operation was carried at 30 locations.
Shell companies used to accommodate undisclosed assets
IT department also carried search and seizure against a Kolkata-based entry operator who formed various shell companies to accommodate entries of bogus share capital of Rs 408 crore besides bogus unsecured loan of Rs 154 crore.
The tax department said several entities engaged in civil construction were found to be involved in claiming bogus expenditure running into crores of rupees. IT gathered evidence in form of blank bill books, stamps signed cheque books of bogus suppliers besides digital data, the IE report added.
“In the case of one company, the undisclosed income of over Rs 86 crore of the directors of the company has been detected. Out of it, the person concerned has admitted a sum of Rs 68 crore as his undisclosed income and offered to pay tax thereon,” it said.
IT has said that undisclosed assets, income, and investment were routed and accommodated through various shell companies. During search and seizure, IT sleuths stumbled upon an unexplained investment worth Rs 12 crore.
“In case of another person, unexplained investment of Rs 11 crore in a shell company and investments in benami properties worth Rs 3.5 crore have been identified,” the IT statement reads.
