In one of the biggest raids conducted on Hawala Operators in the multi States in India including Goa the income tax department unearths the Rs 500 crores worth of Hawala Dealings from Goa, Delhi-NCR, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttarakhand.
According to the reports, the income tax department has recovered jewelry and cash worth Rs 5.25 crore from various locations. The report also revealed that raids were not only on the hawala operators but also on the individuals who prepare fake bills.
The IT department carried out the raids on 42 locations in Delhi-NCR, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Goa.
The action was carried out against “a large network of individuals running the racket of entry operation (hawala like operation) and generation of huge cash through fake billing”, officials said.
The officials have recovered Rs. 2.37 crore in cash and 2.89 crores worth of jewelry found along with 17 bank lockers which are yet to be searched, the CBDT said in a statement.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is the administrative authority for the I-T department. “The search has led to the seizure of 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 (hawala) of more than Rs 500 crore have already been found and seized,” it said.
The officials exposed that the hawala operators made use of several shell companies for laundering of the unaccounted money and made use of the fake bills for the cash withdrawals. The companies also issued unsecured loans.
The mode of entry operator system implemented into these transactions said the officials describing the modus operandi of the tax evasion racket.
“The personal staff, employees, and associates had been made dummy directors and partners of these shell companies and all bank accounts were managed and controlled by these entry operators,” said the official.
The ED has also taken the mastermind of this hawala game dealer Naresh Jain, who is wanted in six countries, into custody.
“Statements of such entry operators, their dummy partners/employees, the cash handlers as well as the covered beneficiaries have also been recorded, clearly validating the entire money trail,” the statement said.
“The searched persons were also found to be the controller 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 managing in collusion with the bank officials, through the digital media,” it said.
