E-Paper
Property fraud: I-T searches at 5 locations of Ansal API in Lucknow
Since March 4, over 50 FIRs related to fraud and cheating with investors have been filed in Lucknow as well as other parts of the state against Ansal API
The Income Tax (I-T) department on Tuesday carried out searches at five locations of Ansal API, a real estate developer, including its Sushant Golf City office in Lucknow, to explore the alleged tax evasion by it.
Since March 4, over 50 FIRs related to fraud and cheating with investors have been filed in Lucknow as well as other parts of the state against Ansal API.
A senior I-T official confirmed that a Delhi unit of the department carried out a survey at the five locations, including residences of Ansal API directors in Lucknow, after getting inputs of a major amount of tax evasion by the firm.
“The team members searched the documents related to the amount invested by thousands of gullible people in the township. They were trying to calculate the invested amount, the investment shown by the firm and what amount of tax evasion was done by the firm,” he said.
“And these entire proceedings will take multiple hours and even days to scan the documents and analyse the tax evasion. A valuer is accompanying the I-T team and evaluating things,” he added.
Earlier, the state government took a strict stand directing development authorities to register FIR against Ansal Properties and Infrastructure (API) Limited for not following the norms while developing the high-tech town city in Lucknow as well as in Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar and cheating investors by not handing them possession of promised flats and plots after taking the amount.
During the recently concluded budge session on March 5, the CM announced that properties of the real estate group would be confiscated if it did not return the investors’ money while assuring all help to the duped investors.
