Chennai has topped the State with 60 cases detected under the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act 2016, according to a senior income tax official.
For the period November 2016 to May 2017, Chennai had the highest number of cases, followed by Mumbai (36), Delhi (35), Kolkata (21), Patna (19) and Ahmedabad (6), said the official.
The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016, came into force on November 1, 2016, just before the Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the demonetisation of ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes (on November 8).
The law prescribes prosecution of the beneficial owner and the abettor, which may result in rigorous imprisonment up to seven years and fine up to 25% of the fair market value of the property. Benami property includes movable as well as immovable and tangible or intangible property.
The senior official, however, did not disclose the names or nature of transactions which were detected in Chennai. The Income Tax department had conducted some high-profile raids in the State post-demonetisation.
In May, an official statement from the Centre said that the Income Tax department has provisionally attached assets worth ₹600 crore, involved in 240 benami transactions since last November, out of the over 400 benami transactions identified up to May 23, 2017.
