Following an Income Tax (I-T) raid at Sree Gokulam Chit Fund and Finance on Wednesday, April 19, a staggering Rs 1,100 crore undisclosed income, which had been unaccounted for over five years, has been recovered.
The chit fund company which is owned by a Chennai-based businessman was raided at 5 am on Wednesday. Details about the money emerged only a couple of days later. Around 500 officials were part of the raids that were carried out in 78 locations at the different offices of the Sree Gokulam Chit Fund across South India.
A total of 43 locations in Tamil Nadu, 29 in Kerala and six in Karnataka were searched. The I-T department also raided the houses of the founder AM Gopalan, his son and the firm's executive director Biju Gopalan and son-in-law VC Praveen.
According to a senior I-T department official, the company has admitted to undisclosed income of Rs 1,100 crore. The official has also added that they would be asked to pay the tax for the recovered amount. They will also have to pay the interest and penalty on the income from the year when it was not shown.
The Sree Gokulam Chit Fund and Finance Private Company which was established in 1968 had been inaugurated by MG Ramachandran (MGR), indicating that the company was closely associated with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party.
This is not the first time that a chit fund company has come under the scanner. In 2013, the Saradha Group was embroiled in a major financial scam.
