PANAJI
The Income Tax Department carried out a massive crackdown against a large hawala network worth more than Rs 500 crore with the search operations being conducted on Monday at 42 premises across Delhi- NCR, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa.
The I-T sleuths succeeded in cracking on a large network of individuals running the racket of entry operation and generation of huge cash through fake billing.
I-T department informed that it has seized evidence exposing the entire network of the entry operators, intermediaries, cash handlers, the beneficiaries and the firms and companies involved.
So far, documents evidencing accommodation entries of more than Rs 500 crore have been seized.
Several shell entities and firms were allegedly used by the searched entry operators for layering of unaccounted money and cash withdrawals against fake bills issued and unsecured loans given.
The personal staff, employees and associates had been made dummy directors and partners of these shell entities and all bank accounts were managed and controlled by these entry operators.
Statements of such entry operators, their dummy partners and employees, the cash handlers as well as the covered beneficiaries have also been recorded clearly chalking out the entire money trail.
The persons who were subjected to the search were also found to be controllers and beneficial owners of several bank accounts and lockers, opened in names of their family members and trusted employees and shell entities, which they were allegedly managing in collusion with the bank officials, through the digital media. The same are being further investigated.
The beneficiaries have been found to have allegedly made huge investments in real estate properties in prime cities and in fixed deposits to the tune of several hundred crores of rupees.
During the search, cash of Rs 2.37 crore and jewellery worth Rs 2.89 crore has been found along with 17 bank lockers, which have yet to be operated.
