The Income Tax Department has been busy ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the demonetisation drive on November 8 and several black money hoarders have already been taken to task.
A Surat-based snacks vendor-turned-financier Kishore Bhajiawala is the latest hoarder who was nabbed by the I-T Department. The sleuths caught him with more than Rs 1.45 crore in new currency notes.
He reportedly used 700 people to withdraw and deposit cash into his 27 bank accounts of which 20 were benami to launder huge amounts of money. It has not been determined how much money was laundered in total. He used proxies to submit Rs 1 lakh, Rs 2 lakh and Rs 4 lakh on November 12, 13 and 14 in different accounts.
When the I-T Department raided Bhajiawala's properties, he was found in possession of Rs 1,45,50,800 (all in new currency notes), gold worth Rs 1,48,88,133, gold jewellery worth Rs 4,92,96,314, diamond jewellery worth Rs 1,39,34,580, and silver ingots worth Rs 77,81,800. Over 13 of his bank lockers were searched.
The I-T Department has handed the case to the CBI as they suspect the involvement of banks.
Surat People's Cooperative Bank's senior manager Pankaj Bhatt was reportedly involved in the laundering. The tax department is also investigating how Bhajaiwala received Rs 1.45 crore in new currency notes and is tracing other bank accounts used to launder money.
"It is not possible to get such a large number of new currency notes without the involvement of bankers," a source said. "So we have been probing the roles of various banks."
A case of criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against Bhajiawala, his two sons and Pankaj Bhatt, the manager of Surat People's Cooperative Bank, according to Press Trust of India.
