Income Tax department raids hawala dealers, cryptocurrency operatives in Delhi

The Income Tax department on Friday conducted searches against a ring of hawala dealers who are alleged to have sent crores of funds abroad through hawala and cryptocurrency-linked channels, official sources said.

They said the department is covering at least half-a-dozen premises in Delhi-NCR as part of the action launched to check tax evasion.

The sources said some hawala dealers, their associates and those who used their services to send crores of rupees abroad under the garb of "media advertisements" through hawala and cryptocurrency-linked channels are under the scanner of the department.

The department is looking at documents at some offices of these operatives in old Delhi and a few other locations.

Hawala denotes to illegal and fraudulent KYC-based monetary transactions through both banking and non-banking channels.