According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), incriminating evidence connected to tax evasion was discovered during a search of the actor Sonu Sood and his aides’ homes. On Saturday, the Income Tax Department said that actor Sonu Sood and his colleagues had avoided tax in the amount of Rs. 20 crores.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) claimed damning evidence relating to tax fraud was discovered during a search of the Bollywood actor’s and his aides’ homes. “The actor’s major mode of operation was to route his unexplained income via several fake organizations in the shape of fraudulent unsecured loans,” a tax department officer was reported as saying by news agency ANI.
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The IT authorities searched and seized numerous of the actor’s properties in Mumbai, as well as a Lucknow-based group of companies involved in infrastructure development. During the operation, the CBDT claimed it searched 28 locations in Mumbai, Lucknow, Kanpur, Jaipur, Delhi, and Gurugram. The department began its investigation into the actor on Wednesday, after which it expanded its inquiry to include others connected to him.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Shiv Sena have condemned the decision, alleging that the Bollywood actor, who has been participating in a variety of charitable activities since the coronavirus-induced lockdown was enforced, was being singled out.
His humanitarian efforts, which began with coordinating transportation for migrant workers during the epidemic, earned him national and worldwide acclaim.
Sood recently became an ambassador for the AAP’s student mentorship program. Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP leader and Delhi chief minister, tweeted his support for Sood, saying that he had the prayers of millions of families who he has helped in tough times.
The Sena said that the BJP used to applaud Sood, but that when the Delhi and Punjab governments sought to work together with him, it now believes he is a tax evader.
According to the Income Tax Department, the actor’s Charity Foundation, which was established on July 21, 2020, has received donations totalling Rs 18.94 crore since January 1, 2021, of which just Rs 1.9 crore has been spent on different relief efforts.
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“It has also been discovered that the Charity Foundation collected donations to the tune of Rs 2.1 crore from overseas contributors on a crowdfunding website in contravention of FCRA regulations,” the agency alleged.
The department further stated that during the searches, Rs 1.8 crore in cash was confiscated, and 11 lockers were placed under a prohibitory order. The FBI is looking into a real estate purchase and several other financial transactions involving Sood.