Currency scammers face muted I-T raids

The income tax authorities are quietly going after people with illicit cash in Karnataka and Goa.

The officials are being extra cautious, though. The raids began a couple of days after the government scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, and a full week on, they aren’t disclosing names. On Friday, an operation in Yelahanka yielded Rs 16 crore in unaccounted cash. The income tax department seized cash, gold and incriminating documents from a financier, an official said.

Tipped off about scrapped notes being used for gold purchases, taxmen also swooped down on a leading jeweller in Bengaluru.

On November 10, they detected a difference of Rs 11 crore between sales and stocks, confirming their suspicion that gold was being sold against demonetised notes, and at a premium.

The Air Intelligence Unit at Kempegowda International Airport intercepted two people on November 12.

A man travelling from Hyderabad to Bengaluru was caught with Rs 13.3 lakh in cash and two gold biscuits of 100 gram each.

On November 14, a passenger from Bhubaneshwar to Bengaluru was similarly caught carrying Rs 50 lakh in Rs 1,000 notes.

The department seized the cash when the passengers could not explain its source.
Officials also visited co-operative institutions in and around Mangaluru, following inputs that they were accepting deposits and investments in demonetised currency.

Five societies had illicitly exchanged notes amounting to Rs 8 crore, an official said.
In the Goa region, officials seized Rs 96.45 lakh in cash, besides gold and diamond-studded jewellery, from a man staying at a hotel in Panaji.

A search at the house of a Margao-based doctor yielded Rs 31.79 lakh in unaccounted cash and jewellery worth Rs 1.6 crore.  The raid also helped officials dig out details about Rs 3 crore in undeclared income, the department said.

Dark face of gold
A Bengaluru jewellery chain faced raids for selling gold against old currency. The cash at their three showrooms exceeded the value of their jewellery sales, leading the tax department to conclude they were selling gold at inflated rates.