In the days following November 8, 2016, much of the action to trace black money seemed to centre around the State. After all, Karnataka saw a flurry of activity by Income Tax, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials, leading to the biggest seizure of ₹2,000 notes before they were even distributed to most urban centres. So one year on, what has come of all this?
While these cases are still being looked into, not one charge sheet has been filed by the CBI yet.
According to sources, of the five demonetisation-linked cases the CBI registered following the I-T raids, including those against bank officials and Reserve Bank personnel, four are still in the probe stage and no charge sheet has been filed. In the only case probe has been completed, the CBI has recommended a departmental enquiry rather than criminal action, said sources in the CBI special court. Sources said charge sheets in two cases were in the final stages of approval and would be filed soon. In the case of State government employee S.C. Jayachandra, at whose house stacks of new ₹2,000 notes were found, the ED has attached his properties.
Income Tax action
Of the lakhs of deposits made in the days following demonetisation, I-T officials have identified only 29 cases where the deposits could not be satisfactorily explained. Officials said prosecution has been launched in these cases. “Some of these cases pertain to unexplained deposits to the tune of ₹7 crore to ₹9 crore,” an official said.
Meanwhile, I-T sleuths have launched prosecution under the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2016 in seven cases for properties worth ₹32 crore, all related to properties uncovered during search and seizure operations during November-December 2016.
A senior I-T official said all those who deposited over ₹2.5 lakh were issued notice from New Delhi. The response rate was nearly 90%. “Most of them have explained the deposits and many have revised their returns,” he said.
Using data mining techniques, sleuths had identified 1,055 cases, totalling deposits of ₹2,710 crore, made without Permanent Account Number (PAN), mostly in co-operative banks of the State. In over 95% of the cases, PAN has been identified and notices issued, sources said.
