ENGALURU, Mar 23: The Karnataka-Goa Income Tax region has detected and unearthed about Rs 800 crore worth
foreign assets and started prosecution in three cases, a top
department official said here Saturday.
“Till date the directorate has detected and unearthed
foreign assets worth close to approximately Rs 800 crore.
Prosecution has been launched in three cases under the Black
Money Act.
Prosecution notices have already been issued in 10 other
cases,” principal chief Income Tax Commissioner
(Karnataka-Goa), B R Balakrishnan told a news conference here.
He said the searches exposed a complex web of overseas
entities floated by the assesses for laundering money abroad
and investments made in foreign assets, having ramifications
under the Black Money Act.
While probing many assesses in the mining business,
evidence of laundering the money abroad to clear undisclosed
overseas assets were found, he said.
“A few assesses have surrendered their Indian
citizenships and obtained citizenship of other countries.
They were found to have opened various undisclosed bank
accounts, made substantial investments in trust structures and
acquired real estate properties overseas in countries like
Hong Kong, the U.K., Samoa, Singapore, Bulgaria and Panama.
Searches have been conducted in 26 cases involving
foreign assets,” Balakrishnan added.
On Benami prohibition, he said the I-T department detected
unique modus operandi in Goa, where foreigners used to
acquire properties which were not registered in their names.
“Enquiries have revealed that many foreigners had paid
consideration for villas and were occupying the same for more
than a decade without getting it registered or transferred in
their names in order to circumvent the law of the land,” said
Balakrishnan.
He said 12 such properties have been provisionally
attached under the ‘Prohibition of Benami Properties
Transaction Act.’
The I-T department was likely to provisionally attach
approximately 100 acres of land worth more than Rs 100 crore by the end of March, he added. (PTI)
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