Catching collars of ghotalas! Income Tax Department busts Rs 3300 crore hawala racket

New Delhi, November 12: Catching collars of ghotalas! Income Tax Department has busted a major racket of bogus billing and hawala transactions worth 3300 crore rupees. The Department carried out searches in the first week of this month on a group of persons indulging in issuing bogus bills and carrying on hawala transactions. The search operations covered 42 premises across Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Agra and Goa.

 

The search operations resulted in busting of a major racket of cash generation by leading corporate houses in the infrastructure sector through bogus bills.

The CBDT in a statement said, funds meant for public infrastructure projects were siphoned off through entry operators, lobbyists and hawala dealers.

"Evidence of cash payment of more than Rs 150 crore to a prominent person in Andhra Pradesh has also been unearthed during the search," the CBDT said.

The projects involved in bogus billings are a major infrastructure and EWS projects located in Southern India. Evidence of cash payment of more than 150 crore rupees to a prominent person in Andhra Pradesh has also been unearthed during the search. The search action was successful in unearthing incriminating evidence and establishing the nexus between big corporates, hawala operators and identification of an entire chain of delivery.