The Income Tax investigation department have busted a money laundering racket in Chennai. They seized a total of Rs.105 crore in old and new denominations. A further search also unearthed Rs.35 Crore worth of gold bars. These raids were conducted in two luxury hotel rooms in Chennai and one hotel in Vellore. This is by far the biggest money laundering racket caught after Demonetisation that happened on November 8.
The Income Tax department released a statement that said, “The raided premises belong to industrialist Shekhar Reddy, his associate Srinivasa Reddy, and their agents, including a person called Prem Kumar. We also raided three jewelry shops.” The accused Shekhar Reddy is a prominent member of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Board. Close to 60 officials were pressed into service for the raids, for which preparations had started on Monday. These raids are supposedly going to continue over the next few days and 60 officials have been pressed into service.
In the total findings, a whopping sum of Rs. 95 crore was in old denominations of Rs.500 and Rs.1000 notes and Rs.10 crore in the new Rs. 2000 denominations. The team also seized 125 kg gold bars, each bar weighing 1 kilo, that estimated to Rs. 35 crores. The officers got a tip about Prem Kumar exchanging demonetised denominations for gold bars, and following his trail they stumbled upon Reddy and his associates. The Income Tax officers seized Rs. 6 crores in 2,000 denomination notes from the house of Shekhar Reddy at T. Nagar. They also raided two rooms in a prominent star hotel at Teynampet and seized 70 kg gold bars. The rooms have been sealed. The Reddys had booked the room in the name of one of their agents. Following the leads generated during the raids, the I-T officials conducted searches at three jewellery shops on NSC Bose Road at Broadway.
When probed further, Shekhar Reddy provided information on the basis of which they raided two rooms in a prominent star hotel at Vellore and seized 70 kg gold bars. The officials also said, that “While the Reddys claimed they had bought gold bars from jewellery shops, we are investigating how they managed to get Rs. 10 crore in 2,000 denomination notes when there is a restriction on cash withdrawal from bank accounts and people are standing in queues for hours to withdraw money from banks and ATMs.” Allegedly, some bank officials are also involved in the money laundering racket.
This incident raised many questions and has been brought to the notice of Government officials. They have ordered a deeper probe into the situation. The Income Tax officials are also hoping that these leads will further unearth even more money laundering rackets and cases of black money exchange through illegal means.
