BHUBANESWAR/NEW DELHI: The role of hawala operators and shell companies that were allegedly used to channel the “illicit” funds has come under scrutiny following the “highest-ever” cash seizure of Rs 351 crore by income tax investigators during raids against a distillery company owned by the family of a Congress MP, official sources said on Monday.
An interim report on the action has also been sent by the field investigation wing of the income tax department to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in Delhi, the administrative body for the department.
The searches began against the Bhubaneswar-headquartered Boudh Distillery Pvt. Ltd. (BDPL) are continuing at about seven locations on Monday, the sixth day after they were launched by the taxman on December 6 on charges of alleged tax evasion and “out of book” transactions.
The searches are expected to be called off soon after the signing of some ‘panchnamas’ and recording of statements, they said.
The I-T department has effected the country’s highest-ever cash seizure of Rs 351 crore by any agency in a single operation after the five-day counting ended on Sunday.
As many as 30-34 premises in Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal were searched, the sources said.
About 3 kg of gold jewellery was also seized by the department, they said.
A number of hawala operators working in these three states and the incorporation of some ‘shell’ or dubious companies are under the scanner of the department after documents indicating their roles were recovered during these searches and recovery of the huge cash, the sources said.
The premises of the Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, in Ranchi and other places, were also covered during the searches by the department. The company and Sahu did not respond to queries.
BJP MPs led by party chief J P Nadda on Monday held a protest near the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the Parliament Complex, alleging the cash seized during the raids proved that the Congress was “neck-deep” in corruption.
BJP members in Lok Sabha also raised the issue in the House on Monday.
The Congress has distanced itself from the MP, claiming that the party has nothing to do with his business.