CBI raids at premises of two I-T officials

New Delhi: The CBI on Monday conducted searches at the premises of two senior Income Tax officials in connection with the multi-thousand crore I Monetary Advisory Ponzi scheme case, alleging that they had received large amounts of bribes from the Bengaluru-based company to look the other way on several tax violations and not raise red-flags.

Officials here said that the residences of Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (Investigation Wing) Sourabh Nayak and Additional Commissioner of Income Tax (Assessment Wing) D Kumar were raided by agency sleuths in connection with the above-mentioned allegations.

The Central Bureau of Investigation raided eight locations in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in its investigation of the case, including the premises of three private persons Ashish Jain, Kaizer Basha and Kiran Pamidi. While five locations in Bengaluru were raided by the central agency, it also conducted raids in Karwar, Hosur and Salem.

Officials here said that both Kumar and Nayak had conducted I-T searches at the offices of IMA in Bengaluru and also prepared assessment reports during the year 2017 but they allegedly chose not to take action against the company with respect deduction of TDS and interest payments. It has also been alleged that IMA bank accounts which were frozen after the I-T searches were also de-frozen, allegedly in lieu of kickbacks from IMA's MD.

The case had seen high drama when it came to light because of IMA chief Mansoor Khan announcing his company's downfall in a short video clip, putting investors in a lurch over the situation. Since the case has come to light, several senior bureaucrats, including IPS and IAS officers have come under the scanner.

In fact, the CBI had also raided the premises of IPS officer Ajay Hilori and IPS officer Hemant Nimbalkar, who were accused of accepting large kickbacks to sweep the IMA's Ponzi scheme under the rug. These police officials were asked to investigate the company for running an illegal deposit collection scheme but gave IMA a clean chit.

The agency has filed two chargesheet in the case so far, naming MD Mansoor Khan, other directors, group companies and persons who stand accused of luring unsuspecting investors into the dubious scheme.