Rs 160 crore in cash seized from Kanpur businessman

Tax officials unearthed unaccounted cash worth a whopping Rs 160 crore from the residence of a perfume manufacturer in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on Friday.

The cash was recovered from the house of Piyush Jain, who owns Odochem Industries, Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, during joint raids carried out by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), and the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI), Ahmedabad Zonal Unit.

The seizure is said to be largest in the raiding agencies' history.

Officials said they were "expecting old papers" when they decided to search a cupboard in a particular part of the bungalow.

"This particular place inside the bungalow was quite unused. Our officers had not noticed anything suspicious. But, when they saw a relative of the manufacturer coming out from that place, they went and found two cupboards," said an officer part of the raid.

"After opening them, they saw boxes wrapped in papers and thought they could be containing old papers." 

To their surprise, they opened one one box and "found cash stuffed in them". "The officers opened the second box and again there were wads of cash", he said. And it didn't stop, as officers eventually found "six such cupboards" full of boxes containing cash.

"We called SBI officials to count the money, who came with 5-6 money counting machines. Till Friday evening, we had counted Rs 160 crore, which is likely to go up as the process is still on," said the officer.

The spectacular discovery happened after officials received specific intelligence while they were searching Trimurti Fragrance, which manufactures "Shikhar" brand of pan masala, and their transporter Ganpati Road Carriers in Kanpur. 

"Based on intelligence inputs, the residential premises of partners of M/s Odochem Industries, Kannauj, UP, located at 143, Anandpuri in Kanpur, who were supplying perfumery compounds, mostly in cash, to the said (Trimurti) company was also searched. It was suspected that the sale proceeds in cash were secreted in the premises," officials said in a press note issued from the Ahmedabad office.

Officials said the operation was launched over "clandestine supply of goods by the manufacturer without payment of applicable tax".

"The transporter reportedly used to generate multiple invoices in the name of non-existent firms, all below Rs 50,000, for one full truckload to avoid generation of E-way Bills while moving the goods. The transporter was also collecting the sale proceeds of such clandestine supply in cash and handing it over to the manufacturer, after deducting his commission," the note said.

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