The Income Tax Department carried out search and seizure operation on 16.12.2021 on a Neyveli based group, engaged in the business of chit funds, finance and real estate. The group also runs educational institutions through its trusts. The search action covered around 30 premises located at various places like Neyveli, Chennai, Coimbatore, Nilgiris, etc.

During the course of the search operations, a remotely located cloud server containing parallel set of books of account secretly maintained by key persons of the group has been unearthed. Various documentary and digital evidences have also been seized. The preliminary analysis of these digital evidences and other related evidences clearly reveals the details of unaccounted money generated through under-reporting of income from chit fund business and deposits received in cash from various parties. The seized evidences also indicate that the unaccounted money, so generated, has been utilised to make ‘on-money’ payments for investments in real estate business. Prima facie analysis indicates the quantum of unaccounted cash transactions in immovable properties to be to the tune of ₹ 250 crore.

The search action has led to seizure of unaccounted cash of more than ₹ 12 crore.

Further investigations are in progress.

Search and seizure uncovers parallel books and alleged underreported chit-fund income, prompting expanded tax investigation and asset probe. A tax authority carried out search and seizure across multiple premises of a group engaged in chit funds, finance, real estate and educational trusts, seizing cash and documentary and digital evidence. Investigators discovered a remotely hosted parallel books of account; preliminary analysis indicates under-reporting of chit-fund income and cash deposits from various parties, and that unaccounted funds were used as on-money payments for investments in immovable property, with investigations ongoing.