Over Rs 150 crore in black money unearthed in tax raid on 4 Bengaluru Credit C-op Societies

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The Income Tax Department has unearthed black money transactions of over Rs 150 crore in search and seizure operations carried out on four Bengaluru-based Credit Cooperative Societies (CCS) and their associates, according to information provided by the finance ministry on Tuesday.  </p>
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Undisclosed investments in immovable properties aggregating to about Rs 130 crore in the name of promoters of these CCS and entities controlled by them and a few benami persons have been discovered.</p>
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In addition, one of the clients of a CCS, who is engaged in the business of buying old gold from customers, has been found to be indulging in suppression of sales leading to escapement of income to the tune of Rs. 20 crore in these transactions. The books of account relating to such undisclosed transactions have been discovered by the search team in a secretly maintained web-based server, the official statement said.</p>
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The search action, carried out on December 2, has also resulted in the seizure of unaccounted cash of more than Rs 4 crore.</p>
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These search actions have revealed gross irregularities in the operations of these CCS entities and involvement of their promoters in siphoning-off funds of depositors for personal use.  he promoters of these CCS took advantage of the relaxed KYC norms while operating the CCS and several accounts have been opened without obtaining PAN, the official statement points out.</p>
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These credit co-ops have also enabled laundering of unaccounted money by accepting cash deposits from clients and returning the proceeds to them through RTGS.</p>
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They have also been charging high rates of interest and lending money to non-members of CCS which is illegal.</p>
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Certain instances of issuing fake Fixed Deposit (FD) certificates by a CCS to its clients in exchange for a  commission collected in cash, have also been found.</p>
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Also, more than 100 benami accounts in the names of employees and others have been detected and such accounts have been placed under restraint.</p>
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Further investigations are still in progress.</p>
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<strong>Also read: </strong> <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/economy-news/income-tax-dept-unearths-rs-crore-in-black-money-from-leading-steel-manufacturer-in-kolkata-133163.html">Income Tax Dept. unearths Rs 100 crore in black money from leading steel manufacturer in Kolkata</a></p>