The Income Tax (IT) Department’s search operation against V.V. Minerals, owned by Thoothukudi-based mining baron S. Vaikundarajan, has revealed that the group had undisclosed income to the tune of ₹1,825 crore.
A senior I-T official from the department’s investigations wing said that cash and gold were also seized during the operation. “We have seized cash amounting to ₹8.5 crore. The gold value is yet to be valued,” he said.
Verification ongoing
The official also said that some documents had been seized and the team was currently scrutinising and verifying them. Tax officials carried out searches on the premises of the mining baron and his family last week suspecting huge tax evasion.
Over 100 locations across Tamil Nadu and a few places in Andhra Pradesh came under the scanner.
A news channel owned by the group was also searched a week ago. Earlier this week, the I-T department froze banks accounts and lockers belonging to the mining baron and his family.
V.V. Mineral (VVM) is India’s largest manufacturer and exporter of garnet and Ilmenite. The firm has an annual output of 7,00,000 metric tonnes of heavy minerals including garnet abrasive, ilmenite, zircon, rutile, sillimanite and leucoxene.
