The Income Tax (I-T) Department has conducted searches against some entities and individuals who, through a Dubai-based financial service provider, had parked about ₹750 crore of undisclosed funds overseas in the past decade.
The search and seizure operation, launched on September 30, had so far covered 37 premises in Noida, Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru.
These groups and individuals under the Department’s scrutiny were into various businesses, including cable manufacturing, real estate, textile, printing machineries, hotels and logistics.
The Department alleged that they found documents and digital evidence indicating the ownership of a large number of foreign bank accounts and immovable properties, unreported to it.
These groups and individuals used the services of the company in Dubai to create a dubious and complex web of foreign companies and trusts based in tax havens such as Mauritius, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), British Virgin Islands and Gibraltar to hold their unaccounted assets.
The credits in the bank accounts of these groups and individuals exceeded $100 million (about ₹750 crore) accumulated over a decade. The funds were parked in the bank accounts in Switzerland, UAE, Malaysia and several other countries.
It was alleged that the undisclosed funds parked abroad had been used by the accused to acquire immovable properties in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Portugal and UAE, in the name of defunct companies incorporated overseas.
The funds were layered through foreign bank accounts and used for meeting the personal expenses of the promoters and their family members outside the country. They were also routed back to their Indian entities.
The Department had also come across details related to bogus payments to suppliers for generating cash, making unaccounted cash expenditures and hawala transactions. Over-invoicing was also done.
During the searches, the Department had seized ₹2 crore in unaccounted cash and jewellery from the residential and business premises. More than 50 bank lockers had been kept under restraint.
