Actor Sonu Sood breaks his silence today about tax searches at his Mumbai home and offices last week and charges of tax fraud, saying that "every rupee" in his foundation was "awaiting its turn to save a life." He then took a shot at the Income Tax Department, claiming that he had been "busy attending to guests" for the last four days.
The Income Tax Department raided the 48-year-old actor for four days in a row, alleging that he evaded taxes worth over 20 crore. His charitable actions during the Covid crisis earned him widespread accolades.
"Every rupee in my foundation is awaiting its turn to save a precious life and reach the needy. In addition, on many occasions, I have encouraged brands to donate my endorsement fees for humanitarian causes too, which keeps us going," the actor wrote.
Also Read: Sonu Sood Updates: IT Department RAID At Mumbai Offices Ended Late At Night"I have been busy attending to a few guests hence was unable to be at your service for the last four days. Here I am back again in all humility. At your humble service, for life."
The Maharashtra government's Shiv Sena and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have questioned the timing of the Income Tax investigations, linking them to his recent tie-up with the AAP for an education mentorship programme.
Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP's leader and Delhi Chief Minister, responded to the actor's comments on Twitter: "More power to you Sonu ji. You are a hero to millions of Indians.”
Sonu Sood's non-profit Sood Charity Foundation, which was established in July last year and received donations of over CHECK 18 crore until April this year, according to the tax department, of which 1.9 crore was spent on humanitarian work and 17 crore was left unused. It further claimed that the organisation broke the law by raising Rs 2.1 crore from international contributors through a crowdfunding platform.
"The actor's major strategy was to hide his unexplained income by taking out bogus unsecured loans from a variety of bogus companies." the tax department said in the statement.