Mumbai: The Income Tax Department has alleged Bollywood actor Sonu Sood is implicated in tax evasion of nearly Rs 20 crore. On September 17, the I-T department expanded its tax fraud investigation into Sood by searching various locations. The IT department had been conducting raids at the actor’s residence for three days in a row. The taxation department had carried out surveys at 28 premises spread over Mumbai, Lucknow, Kanpur, Jaipur, Delhi and Gurugram as part of the operation. The department today said that it has found incriminating evidence pertaining to tax evasion during the search. The investigation is still ongoing after the authorities took action against the 48-year-old actor and those connected to him on September 15.
The tax department stated, “During the course of search at the premises of the actor and his associates, incriminating evidence pertaining to tax evasion have been found. The main modus operandi followed by the actor had been to route his unaccounted income in the form of bogus unsecured loans from many bogus entities. Investigations so far have revealed use of 20 such entries, the providers of which, on examination, have accepted on oath to have given bogus accommodation entries. They have accepted to have issued cheques in lieu of cash. There have been instances where professional receipts have been camouflaged as loans in the books of accounts for the purpose of evasion of tax. It has also been revealed that these bogus loans have been used for making investments and acquiring properties. The total amount of tax evaded unearthed so far, amounts to more than ₹ 20 crore. The simultaneous search operations carried out at various premises of an infrastructure group in Lucknow in which the actor has entered into a joint venture real estate project and invested substantial funds, have resulted in unearthing of incriminating evidence pertaining to tax evasion and irregularities in the books of account.”
According to the I-T department’s allegations, the actor’s non-profit organisation Sood Foundation, which was established in July 2020 during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, received donations of Rs 18 crore, of which only Rs 1.9 crore was spent while Rs 17 crore sat idle in the non-bank profit’s account. A real estate agreement between Sonu Sood’s company and a Lucknow real estate firm is also being investigated, according to sources. This agreement was the foundation for the I-T survey.