Sonu Sood has come close to being a messiah for the general mass for his social work in times of pandemic. However, the Income Tax Department has something else to say. They claimed that the Bollywood actor Sonu Sood is involved in tax evasions of over Rs 20 crores.
Evidence found in the surveys that were done at 28 premises
On September 17, according to reports the I-T department had widened its tax evasion probe against Sonu Sood. The department had done surveys at 28 premises spread over Mumbai, Kanpur, Jaipur, Lucknow, Delhi and Gurugram as part of the operation. And on 18th September the department said that during the operation they had found evidence pertaining to tax evasion.
Statements of the Income Tax Department
“The main modus operandi followed by the actor had been to route his unaccounted income in the form of bogus unsecured loans from many bogus entities,” said the tax department in a statement.
It added, “Investigations so far have revealed the use of twenty such entries, the providers of which, on examination, have accepted on oath to have given bogus accommodation entries. They have accepted to have issued cheques in lieu of cash. There have been instances where professional receipts have been camouflaged as loans in the books of accounts for the purpose of evasion of tax. It has also been revealed that these bogus loans have been used for making investments and acquiring properties. The total amount of tax evaded unearthed so far, amounts to more than Rs 20 crore”.
Violation of FCRA regulations
The I-T Department said that the Charity Foundation of Sood has collected donations of Rs 18.94 crore from 01.04.2021 till now, out of which only Rs 1.9 crore was spent for various relief work. “It is seen that funds to the tune of Rs 2.1 crore have also been raised by the Charity Foundation from overseas donors on a crowdfunding platform in violation of FCRA regulations,” claimed the department.
According to ANI sources, there are documents which found during the survey showed he got “large amounts of foreign contributions” which were “spent for other means”.
On September 15, surveys was carried out in at least half a dozen locations in the metro city and Lucknow. According to reports a real estate deal and some other financial transactions linked to the actor Sood are also under the scanner of the I-T department.
“Further, it has been unearthed that the said infrastructure group has entered into a dubious circular transaction to the tune of ₹175 crore with an infrastructure company based in Jaipur. Further investigations are being carried out to establish the full extent of tax evasion. Cash ₹1.8 crore has been seized during the search (at a company) and 11 lockers have been placed under prohibitory order,” it said.
Sood grabbed national spotlight when he helped the migrants who were in other parts of the country to reach their home safely during the nationwide lockdown in 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recently the actor is in the news after the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government, declared him as ambassador of the its ‘Desh ka mentors’ programme under which students will be guided in making their career choices.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s support
After the raid by the I-T Department officials in the actor’s house in Mumbai, Chief Minister Kejriwal came out in his support.
“There are millions of difficulties on the path of truth, but the truth always wins. With Sonu Sood ji, there are prayers of lakhs of families of India who got Sonu ji’s support in difficult times,” he tweeted, tagging a news report of the IT Department action.
