The Income Tax Department claimed in a statement today that actor Sonu Sood evaded taxes worth over 20 crore after searching his Mumbai residence for three days. Mr. Sood, 48, recently announced a partnership with Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party administration in Delhi.
Sonu Sood's non-profit also received 2.1 crore from overseas contributors using a crowdfunding platform, according to the tax department, in breach of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, which controls such transactions.
Also Read: Sonu Sood Updates: IT Department RAID At Mumbai Offices Ended Late At Night"During a search of the actor's and his associates' homes, incriminating material relating to tax evasion was discovered. The actor's major strategy had been to hide his unaccounted income by taking out bogus unsecured loans from a variety of fictitious companies " the tax department stated in a statement.
"So far, investigations have exposed the usage of 20 such entries, the providers of which have admitted under oath to providing bogus accommodation records. They have agreed to take checks instead of cash. There have been cases where professional receipts have been disguised as loans in the books of accounts to avoid paying taxes. It has also been shown that these fictitious loans were utilised to make investments and purchase real estate. The total amount of tax evasion discovered so far is more than 20 crore "According to the tax department.
Also Read: IT department 'surveys' actor Sonu Sood's Mumbai premises
According to the allegations against the actor, whose philanthropic efforts for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic have garnered widespread praise, his non-profit Sood Charity Foundation, which was established in July last year during the first wave of the COVID pandemic, received over 18 crore in donations between July and April this year, of which 1.9 crore was spent on relief work and the remaining 17 crore sat unused.
According to sources, "a recent agreement between Sonu Sood's company and a Lucknow-based real estate firm is under investigation," and the survey operation was launched in response to suspicions of tax evasion in this transaction.
The tax department said in a statement today, "the simultaneous search operations performed on different premises within the Lucknow infrastructure group in which the actor undertook a joint venture property project and invested substantial funds led to the disbursement of incriminating evidence concerning tax evasion and irregularities."
The Lucknow organisation is accused of falsifying subcontracting expenditures and diverting cash, according to the report. "So far, there have been over 65 crores worth of fraudulent contracts discovered... To determine the true degree of tax avoidance, more investigations are being conducted. During the search, a total of 1.8 crore in cash was discovered "According to the tax department.
The Maharashtra government's Shiv Sena and the Aam Aadmi Party have raised concerns about the timing of the searches at Sonu Sood's residence. Mr Sood's association with the AAP, according to the BJP, has nothing to do with the searches.