After the income tax (IT) department's surprise raid at the houses and offices of actors Vijay, Nayanthara and Samantha Ruth Prabhu on Wednesday and Thursday, it is said that the actors have evaded taxes for years.
While Vijay evaded for almost 5 years, the actresses have been partially avoiding it for 2 years.
"We raided the offices and premises of ten people including actor Vijay, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Nayantara and recovered cash and gold. We won't be able to give the break up now but in total we have found Rs 2 crore cash and gold worth Rs 2 crore," a senior income tax official told The Hindu.
The IT officials also conducted raid at the properties of producers PT Selva Kumar, Shibu Thameens and financier Ramesh of Vijay's latest film "Puli". A total of over 30 places were raided in Chennai, Cochin and Hyderabad.
It is said that they have evaded taxes to the tune of nearly Rs 25 crore. "All of them including Vijay have been paying tax but not the full amount. The total tax evaded amount comes to about Rs.25 crore," according to IANS.
The fact that "Puli" was made on a budget of about Rs 100 crore might have drawn the attention of the department.
The raids also affected the release of "Puli", which has been receiving average reviews from critics and audience.
