Income Tax Raid: Rs. 54 Crore handed over to IT; only Rs.1.7 Crore unaccounted

Of the 54 crore cash seized by police and handed over to the income tax department since the announcement of the election schedule on October 9, just 1.7 crore was found to be unaccounted.

In addition, the 156 kg of gold jewellery confiscated by police, airborne and static surveillance teams was determined to be legitimate.

Though police have recovered around 100 crore in cash since the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was implemented, they have only sent 54 crore cash to the IT department in seizures where the seized amount was 10 lakh or more, indicating that in the rest of the cases, the seized cash was less than 10 lakh.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, IT investigation department director-general Sanjay Bahadur and additional director of IT (Investigation) and elections nodal officer M Karthik Manickam stated that so far, around 11 crore has been given, and the remainder will be released following due procedure.

In addition to the cash handed up by cops, IT sleuths confiscated 14.8 crore from a property in Medak in connection with the Karnataka case, in which over 40 crore cash was discovered in a flat in Bengaluru in the second week of October.

The officials indicated that big data analytics was being utilised to track suspicious banking activities. As per the Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines, if cash of over 10 lakh is found in a vehicle and there is a suspicion of the commission of any crime or a linkage to any candidate, agent, or party functionary, the agencies shall seize the cash and pass on the information to the I-T authority for necessary action under income tax laws.

The IT department would also be reviewing affidavits submitted by candidates and reporting any inconsistencies to the EC. They would use the information they have to confirm the assets listed in the affidavit.

Approximately 20 crore was confiscated by IT sleuths during the 2018 assembly elections.

Air Intelligence Units (AIU) have been stationed at Begumpet Airport and Rajiv Gandhi International Airport to monitor the movement of cash and valuables 24 hours a day, seven days a week in collaboration with the CISF. AIUs at all other airports with connections to Hyderabad have also been instructed to maintain a constant watch on passengers going to the city.

The investigative team has begun gathering data from the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) and other sources, as well as analysing the Income Tax Department’s digital intelligence database.

The goal of this experiment is to uncover high-value cash transactions that could be used to fund election campaigns. People involved in dubious transactions are being profiled. We are also keeping an eye on the airstrips and hangars for the arrival of helicopters and private jets.

The IT department is working with the Bureau of Civil Aviation and the Airports Authority of India to coordinate the timetable of inbound chartered aircraft and helicopters. Telangana’s CEO formed a cash and precious metals cohort led by the IT department and composed of other agencies.