Black Money

Kerala: Police raids in Palakkad spark political war ahead of bypoll

Amidst heated campaigning for the upcoming Assembly by-election in the Palakkad constituency, a midnight police raid at a hotel here on suspicion of the arrival of black money triggered an intense political row on Wednesday. Around midnight, the police conducted searches, including in the hotel rooms where prominent women politicians from the Congress, such as Bindu Krishna and Shanimol Usman, were staying. The incident occurred as the Congress-UDF is working hard to retain its sitting constituency, while the ruling CPI (M)-led LDF and the BJP-NDA are making every effort to wrest the seat from the grand old party. The Congress leadership, vehemently protesting the police action, alleged that it was a "midnight police drama" jointly orchestrated by the BJP and the CPI (M) due to their fear of a potential poll debacle. However, the Marxist party and the BJP rejected the allegations and accused the Congress of "distributing" large amounts of black money to secure a victory in the ...

Kodakara black money : BJP should change party symbol to sack, says CPI(M)

The ruling CPI(M) in Kerala on Saturday took a dig at the BJP, which is in a tough situation following a former party functionary's revelations about the 2021 Kodakara black money case, by saying that it should "change its party symbol from lotus to a sack". Kerala PWD Minister P A Mohamed Riyas also attacked the opposition Congress by accusing it of being silent on the lack of any action in the black money case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). "Many things have been made clear by the new revelations and one of them is that BJP should change its party symbol from lotus to a sack," the minister told reporters. While the minister attempted to show there was an arrangement between the BJP and the Congress as the grand old party was silent on the lack of ED action in the case, Youth Congress state president Rahul Mamkootathil claimed that there was actually a deal between the saffron party and the CPI(M). Mamkootathil, the UDF candidate in Palakkad assembly bypoll, said that the ca

Kodakara black money case puts BJP in tough situation ahead of bypolls

BJP's former Thrissur district office secretary Tirur Satheesh's revelations about the 2021 Kodakara black money case have put the party in a tough situation amidst the ongoing bypoll campaigns in the state, with the CPI(M)-led LDF and Congress demanding a probe into the issue. On Friday, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan called for a thorough investigation following the new revelations in the case. He termed the disclosure "serious" and alleged that it should not be viewed merely as the Kodakara case, but rather as a small piece of a larger black money distribution network run by the BJP throughout the state. The revelations by Satheesh came as the party ramps up its campaign efforts for the November 13 by-polls in Wayanad Lok Sabha seat and the Palakkad and Chelakkara Assembly constituencies. Satheesh has alleged that the unaccounted money linked to the case was part of the party's election fund. He has claimed that the money, allegedly transported in six sacks by an individua

SC-appointed SIT on black money asks probe agencies to coordinate with ED

The Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money on Wednesday stressed the need to regulate online gambling and rising narcotic trade and asked anti-corruption probe agencies to coordinate with Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax for better results. SIT vice-chairman Justice (Retd) Arijit Pasayat made this remark after a meeting with various stakeholders, including ED director Rahul Navin, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Ravi Agrawal, and senior officials from state vigilance, customs, and excise. He also indicated that the SIT is expected to submit its ninth interim report to the Supreme Court within a fortnight to a month. To date, the panel has already submitted eight reports. "We have consistently argued that corruption should not be limited to the Prevention of Corruption Act alone. It must also be addressed under Income Tax laws and the Money Laundering Act, as black money represents undisclosed income," Justice Pasayat said. H

SC-appointed SIT on black money to submit interim report within 15 days

The Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money will submit its ninth interim report to the apex court within 15 days, the panel's vice-chairman Justice (Retired) Arijit Pasayat said here on Monday. After coming to power in May 2014, the Narendra Modi government, in its first cabinet meeting, approved the appointment of the SIT as directed by the Supreme Court. We have already submitted eight reports to the Supreme Court while the ninth report will be submitted within 15 days, Justice Pasayat told reporters here. To a question, he said it would not be the last report as work is going on. The SIT vice-chairman came here on Monday on a three-day visit to the state. He is likely to hold a meeting of officers from IT, ED, Customs and Excise and Central Board of Indirect Tax departments in Cuttack on August 28. Director of ED Rahul Navin is also scheduled to attend the meeting.

Counterfeit notes rife again, claims Congress, questions demonetisation

The Congress on Friday claimed the counterfeit notes have become rife once again and termed as an "eyewash" the government's assertion that the overall number of counterfeit notes detected has fallen. The opposition party also claimed that counterfeiting has just moved rapidly to higher-value notes. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh asked what has the 2016 demonetisation achieved if neither black money nor counterfeiting has been curbed. "Eight years after the non-biological PM ground the economy to a halt through demonetisation, it appears that counterfeit notes have become rife once again - The number of counterfeit Rs 500 notes of the new series that have been detected has nearly quadrupled between 2018-19 and 2023-24. The number of fake Rs 2,000 notes has tripled since 2020-21, he claimed. "While the Government can claim that the overall number of counterfeit notes detected has fallen, this is an eyewash. Counterfeiting has just moved rapidly to

Black money's impact on polls to rise, should find bond alternative: Shah

Home Minister Amit Shah believes that the influence of black money will increase during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections following the Supreme Court's decision to scrap the electoral bond scheme, and said it is for Parliament to decide on an alternative. If the impact of black money rises, then an alternative should be found, he said. He told PTI in an interview on Saturday that the scheme, which allowed donors to fund political parties anonymously by purchasing bonds from the SBI, was scrapped at an important time. The Supreme Court had struck down the scheme in February, a month before the Lok Sabha elections were announced. Replying to a question on the issue, he said, "I believe and this is my guess that it will increase the influence of black money in elections and politics. When political parties submit their account for this fiscal year, then how much money is by cash donation and how much is through cheque will be known. The donation figure by cheques had reached 96 per cent

I-T dept sets up control room in Delhi to check use of black money in polls

In order to check the use of black money in the upcoming general elections, the income tax department on Wednesday said it has set up a control room in the national capital and a dedicated toll-free number on which people can share information on suspicious movement of cash and valuables within the NCT region. Directorate of Income Tax (Investigation), Delhi, has set up a 24X7 control room at Civic Centre, New Delhi, and toll-free Mobile Number 9868168682 in connection with the General Elections to Lok Sabha, 2024, a finance ministry statement said. The identity of the informant shall be kept a secret, it said. "The vigil through the Control Room will help to check suspicious movement/distribution of cash, bullion and other valuables within the NCT of Delhi," it said, adding the control room will be functional during the entire period of Model Code of Conduct in Delhi. The Model Code of Conduct is already in place with the announcement of the dates for the general elections last we

Black money routed to BJP's accounts through electoral bonds, alleges Cong

The Congress on Sunday charged the government with engaging in "quid pro quo" for receiving electoral bonds and "conspiring" to route black money into the BJP's accounts through the scheme. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were answerable on the electoral bond "scam". He also accused the ruling party of indulging in "tax terrorism" and "surgical strikes" on the Congress after its accounts were frozen by the Income Tax authorities ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The opposition party also hoped the Election Commission would maintain "total impartiality and neutrality" during polls and would live up to its constitutional duties as expected by the people from it. Addressing a press conference, Ramesh alleged that the electoral bonds scheme introduced in 2018 was the "biggest extortion racket" ever run by the government, after it was revealed that the BJP garnered around Rs 6,800 crore through electoral bonds while

Odisha Distillery I-T raid: 156 bags of cash found, Rs 20cr counted so far

The Income Tax department on Friday found 156 bags of cash during search for the third consecutive day in places linked to an Odisha-based distillery group on charges of tax evasion, officials said. From the bags, Rs 20 crore were counted till now, taking the total amount so far recovered to Rs 220 crore. The department officials recovered as many as 156 bags containing cash during the raid at Sudapada in Bolangir district on Friday. "Of the 156 bags, only 6/7 were counted and the amount found was Rs 20 crore," an official said. The raids were carried out at Sambalpur, Bolangir, Titilagarh, Boudh, Sundargarh, Rourkela and Bhubaneswar. The company is yet to provide any reaction to the raids. Around Rs 200 crore in cash was seized on Thursday during raids at the Bolangir office of Baldeo Sahu & Group of Companies, one of the biggest country-liquor manufacturers and selling companies in western Odisha. The raids were conducted at some houses, offices, and distillery at Sargipali in

SC-appointed SIT on black money to submit eighth interim report soon

The Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money will soon submit its eighth interim report to the apex court, the panel's vice-chairman Justice (Retired) Arijit Pasayat said here. After coming to power in May 2014, the Narendra Modi government, in its first cabinet meeting, approved the appointment of the SIT as directed by the Supreme Court. In the last nine years, the SIT has submitted seven interim reports to the apex court. Justice Pasayat held a meeting at his residence here on Tuesday with officers of both central and state governments in connection with the detection and curbing of black money generation in the country. "A meeting of officers from Income Tax, Enforcement Directorate, Customs and Excise and Central Board of Indirect Tax departments was held for over two hours in which participants discussed the methods to be applied for detection and curbing of generation of black money in India and abroad," Justice Pasayat told reporters.

'Rs 2,000 notes withdrawal will help curb black money to great extent'

Former Reserve Bank Deputy Governor R Gandhi on Friday said withdrawal of the Rs 2,000 bank notes will help in curbing black money to a "great extent" because people are hoarding the high value currency. Gandhi, who was leading the currency department during the demonetisation of 2016, told PTI that any systemic impact on payments is unlikely because the notes are not used in day-to-day payments, which mostly go through in a digital manner. However, the Rs 20,000 limit on a single exchange transaction -- where those having the Rs 2,000 notes can go to a bank branch for exchanging the currency with bills of other denominations - may lead to "operational inconvenience" as some people may have to do multiple visits to a bank branch. When asked about the impact of the Rs 2,000 notes withdrawal on the agenda of curbing black money, Gandhi said it will help to a "great extent", and reminded that one of the intentions of demonetisation was also to curb black money in the economy. The Rese

Extending liability

New PMLA rules will help curb black money

Rs 1.25 trn black money recovered by govt: Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

'Benami properties worth Rs 4,300 cr have been attached, Rs 1,254 lakh crore black money has been confiscated, 1.75 lakh shell companies have been de-registered'

'Fake currency, terror financing should be tackled', Centre to SC on DeMo

Fake currency, terror financing and black money are three evils and are like 'Jarasandha' (an antagonist in Mahabharat) and should be cut into pieces, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Monday while opposing the pleas challenging the 2016 demonetisation exercise. Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, submitted before a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer that the government is duty bound to address the three evils. "They (petitioners) have said we should have conducted studies before demonetisation. For more than a decade, central government and the Reserve Bank of India have been looking at the three problems (fake currency, terror financing, black money)... They are like Jarasandha. You have to cut it into pieces. If you don't cut it into pieces, it will always be alive," he said. Venkataramani said judicial review of an economic policy may be restricted to where the court may only determine if there is a rational nexus with the objec

Delhi HC seeks RBI response on implementation of Uniform Banking Code

Court also asks Centre to file a reply in the case in six weeks; next hearing on March 20

Note ban was to counter black money, terror finance, Centre tells SC

'The withdrawal of the legal tender character of the specified bank notes was one of the critical steps in the series of transformational economic policy steps'

I-T dept detects Rs 250 cr 'black' income after Kolkata business group raid

The Income-tax department has detected "unaccounted" income of more than Rs 250 crore after it recently raided a Kolkata-based group engaged in manufacturing of power transmission and distribution equipments apart from few other businesses, the CBDT said Thursday. The searches were launched on August 24 and 28 on the premises of the group, which is also involved in manufacturing of steel pipes and polymer products, in West Bengal and Jharkhand. "Evidence of use of unaccounted cash for acquisition of immovable property and unaccounted cash loan, etc. has also been found and a preliminary analysis of seized evidence reveals that several shell (bogus) companies have been utilised by the group to provide accommodation (hawala) entries to its flagship concerns," the Board said in a statement. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) frames policy for the tax department. The shell entities have been found to have routed back the unaccounted money in the guise of share capital or unsecure

I-T Dept detects Rs 500-cr black income after raids on two TN groups

In case of one group, it has been found that the payments made for these bogus purchases etc., were being received back in cash by the group, it said.

Limit Section 54 benefit to curb money laundering

Section 54 tax exemption should not be available if the taxpayer already owns two or more properties on the date of sale of property