I-T unearths ₹595cr in unaccounted income
Tax Lens On Investments By ‘Lottery King’, His Kin
Sivakumar.B@timesgroup.com
Chennai:5.5.2019
Searches on the premises of ‘lottery king’ Santiago Martin, his relatives and associates have unearthed ₹595 crore of unaccounted income, said I-T investigation officials on Saturday. The searches, which started on Tuesday, were partially completed on Saturday, said officials.
The officials found ₹8.25 crore in cash at various premises, of which ₹5.8 crore was seized. The department is scrutinising investments worth several hundred crores of rupees made by Martin and his relatives. “We have found unaccounted receipts and payments running into a few hundred crores of rupees. We are in the process of verifying records to ascertain their sources,” said an official.
The search commenced on April 30 across 70 premises in Coimbatore, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Guwahati, Siliguri, Gangtok, Ranchi and Ludhiana. The group is particularly active in lotteries of West Bengal and Northeastern states where it has monopoly. The group also has dealings in real estate and finance business in a big way, said a senior I-T investigation wing official.
Martin’s companies have been under the department’s radar for quite some time due to steady fall in its advance tax payments in the last few years. “The advance tax payments started coming down from 2016-17. When confronted, Martin said he was incurring losses after the introduction of GST. While the tax was 4% before the introduction of GST, it is 28% now. Our probe further confirmed he was evading tax,” said the official.
The searches yielded unaccounted gold and diamond jewellery worth ₹24.57 crore. They have been frozen. “Martin’s lottery business comprises printing lotteries, selling them and appointing agents and sub-agents. We are probing whether there is any fraud in the prize distribution. We have some specific information. Only further probe will reveal details. Much of the unaccounted income was invested in realty in Coimbatore,” said the official.
“Prohibitory orders have been clamped on several premises where documents and electronic evidences and digital documents were found. They are yet to be examined,” said the official.
Attempts to contact Martin and his family members in Coimbatore were in vain
Tax Lens On Investments By ‘Lottery King’, His Kin
Sivakumar.B@timesgroup.com
Chennai:5.5.2019
Searches on the premises of ‘lottery king’ Santiago Martin, his relatives and associates have unearthed ₹595 crore of unaccounted income, said I-T investigation officials on Saturday. The searches, which started on Tuesday, were partially completed on Saturday, said officials.
The officials found ₹8.25 crore in cash at various premises, of which ₹5.8 crore was seized. The department is scrutinising investments worth several hundred crores of rupees made by Martin and his relatives. “We have found unaccounted receipts and payments running into a few hundred crores of rupees. We are in the process of verifying records to ascertain their sources,” said an official.
The search commenced on April 30 across 70 premises in Coimbatore, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Guwahati, Siliguri, Gangtok, Ranchi and Ludhiana. The group is particularly active in lotteries of West Bengal and Northeastern states where it has monopoly. The group also has dealings in real estate and finance business in a big way, said a senior I-T investigation wing official.
Martin’s companies have been under the department’s radar for quite some time due to steady fall in its advance tax payments in the last few years. “The advance tax payments started coming down from 2016-17. When confronted, Martin said he was incurring losses after the introduction of GST. While the tax was 4% before the introduction of GST, it is 28% now. Our probe further confirmed he was evading tax,” said the official.
The searches yielded unaccounted gold and diamond jewellery worth ₹24.57 crore. They have been frozen. “Martin’s lottery business comprises printing lotteries, selling them and appointing agents and sub-agents. We are probing whether there is any fraud in the prize distribution. We have some specific information. Only further probe will reveal details. Much of the unaccounted income was invested in realty in Coimbatore,” said the official.
“Prohibitory orders have been clamped on several premises where documents and electronic evidences and digital documents were found. They are yet to be examined,” said the official.
Attempts to contact Martin and his family members in Coimbatore were in vain
.
BIG MONEY: Bundles of cash found during searches in a property of ‘lottery king’ Santiago Martin on Saturday
BIG MONEY: Bundles of cash found during searches in a property of ‘lottery king’ Santiago Martin on Saturday
No comments:
Post a Comment