Officials of the I-T department on Friday evening unearthed unaccounted money worth Rs. 30 lakh including Rs. 8 lakh in new Rs. 2,000 notes, which had been launched on November 11.
The raid was conducted at the outlet and home of a wholesale tobacco trader, identified as Venkitachalam in Aluva.
“Of the currency bundles seized, Rs.8 lakh was in the form of the latest Rs 2,000 notes, while the remaining amount was in the form of the demonetised bills of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000,” officials said.
Preliminary investigation pointed that the new currencies were converted using the employees of the outlet. The trader, meanwhile, was unable to provide enough documents to prove the source of income for the unearthed cash.
Despite the finding, the I-T department, however, did not make a seizure as it was difficult for the department to seize old currencies.
“We have transferred the money to an account of the trader with the Federal Bank. It is difficult for us to seize the old currencies. The money is now in public domain and further action will be taken later,” officials added.
According to them, further action will be taken after cross-checking the money with his recorded accounts.
“The entire sum is now accounted for. We will take action after examining details of his tax returns,” said a senior I-T official. The sleuths said that they are investigating how the person was able to get hold of the new notes in this scale during the current currency crunch.
