For the fifth day now, the Income Tax department is conducting raids on properties belonging to sidelined AIADMK general secretary Sasikala’s relatives, and business linked to them. The raids that began on Thursday morning across 188 locations, continued with five properties being searched on Monday.
While past raids have concluded in two or three days, the present searches are perhaps one of the longest in I-T history, raising the question – what exactly have tax officials found so far?
There is speculation that either the IT department has found nothing substantial which is why they have maintained silence on the operation or that the department was still deciphering the documents they have unearthed. Monday evening, IT officials told journalists that Rs 1430 crore unaccounted wealth had been found, but there was still no official statement.
1. ‘Sasikala and family have evaded Rs 1,000 crore tax’
TTV Dhinakaran and his supporters have been insisting that they are not afraid of the raids, and that the only way the I-T department was going to find something was if they planted it themselves. Speculation, however, is rife that tax officials have found that Sasikala and family have evaded taxes to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore, reported The Asian Age quoting a source. The 1,800 member I-T team has reportedly found several incriminating documents. Sources told TNM that around 50 accounts were being scrutinised and that many shell companies were working on minimum amount of capital. Times of India reported that Rs 6 crore in cash and 8.5 kgs of gold have been seized.
2. Have 100 bank accounts linked to Jaya TV MD Vivek Jayaraman been frozen’
Vivek Jayaraman, nephew of Sasikala and the son her sister-in-law Ilavarasi, is the MD of Jaya TV and has been the focal point of I-T investigations. According to Times of India, 100 bank accounts of shell companies linked to Vivek have been frozen by the I-T department.
"We recovered many documents relating to these shell companies from Vivek's house. Some documents were seized from the houses of his sister Krishna Priya and an auditor. We are also examining documents of some properties held by benamis," an I-T source told ToI.
However, The Hindu quoted an I-T officer, who termed ‘baseless’ reports that bank accounts had been frozen. The newspaper also reported that tax officials had seized several documents pertaining to benami transactions in the names of several household staff.
An I-T source meanwhile told The New Indian Express that around 60 shell companies have been identified by them.
Vivek’s 2015 business deal with SPI Cinemas is also under the scanner. He had allegedly used coercion to buy Jazz Cinemas, which was earlier known as Luxe Cinemas.
3. ‘Valuables recovered from hostel of women’s college owned by Dhivakaran’
A room near the Principal's office was sealed on Sunday.
On record though, the I-T officials have said nothing. “We do not know from where such reports emerge. We do not want to give any statements about the outcome of this raid until we complete the operation and verification. There are many incriminating documents seized, gold items have also been seized. But the details of these seizures cannot be confirmed now,” an unnamed I-T official told Arun Janardhanan of The Indian Express.