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IT raids bring tax evasion of ₹300 cr to the fore in Kanpur
The development comes after several heavy transactions were flagged by IT department’s Artificial Intelligence (AI)-backed surveillance system.
KANPUR Tax evasion to the tune of ₹300 crore has been found by income tax (IT) officials after raids at a local jewellery firm and a city-based realtor. The raids also detected bogus purchases worth ₹1,200 crore and bogus sales of ₹500 crore, said people aware of the development.
Around 300 IT officials conducted the raid, which went on for six days. The development comes after several heavy transactions made by the accused were flagged by the IT department’s Artificial Intelligence system. Notably, the sophisticated AI tools with the IT department flag high-value suspicious transactions. The department has acquired this software recently.
The jewellery firm and the realtor have been found to be making super heavy transactions in cash, which the AI system red-flagged. The transactions in question were flagged about seven months ago and since then, transactions made by the accused were being tracked. Later, when the currency bills of ₹2,000 were stopped from circulation, the IT department found more clues relating to their illegal transactions.
It has also emerged that the two companies had a close working relationship. The jewellery firm invested heavily in the real estate business. The investments were made in the name of employees. Even IT returns worth crores were filed in their names. Also, the jewellery firm took prime properties of eminent people of Kanpur and beyond, developed and sold them at premium prices, said officials.
“The purchase and sales figures are based on estimates. The actual figure will take some time to come in,” said officials while adding that the department has recovered gold and cash worth ₹26 crore. Notably, 12 kilogram of gold was found hidden in the floor of a luxury car.
Significantly, the realtor under the IT department scanner has developed the two biggest and costliest townships in the city, along with high-rise apartment building. The accused reportedly sold a lot of units in cash, which was then invested into the bullion trade through the jeweller.
Further, in order to evade tax, bogus firms were formed in different parts of the country, including Delhi. “The probe teams have taken voluminous data, and its analysis has started,” said officials while adding that there was strong evidence of heavy transactions in bullion and real estate.
Many eminent people of Kanpur and other parts of the state have also been found involved in making cash transactions with these two firms.
