K'taka raids: Rs 94 cr cash, jewellery seized after IT searches govt contractors, realty developers
New Delhi (PTI): The Income Tax department has seized Rs 94 crore in cash as well as gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs 8 crore and 30 luxury watches following raids on government contractors and real estate developers in Karnataka and some other states, the CBDT said on Monday.
The searches were launched on October 12 and 55 premises were covered by the department in Bengaluru and some cities in neighbouring Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as well as in Delhi.
"The search has resulted in seizure of unaccounted cash of approximately Rs 94 crore and gold and diamond jewellery of over Rs 8 crore, aggregating to more than Rs 102 crore," the Central Board of Direct Taxes said in a statement.
"Further, a cache of about 30 luxury wristwatches of foreign make were unearthed from the premises of a private salaried employee, not engaged in the business of wristwatches," it said without identifying the accused entities.
A war of words on the matter has broken out between Karnataka's ruling Congress and the opposition BJP following the recovery of the "unaccounted" cash. BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel said the money was linked to the Congress. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has denied the allegation as baseless.
The CBDT frames policies for the Income Tax department.
It alleged that a large amount of "incriminating" evidence in the form of loose sheets, hard copy of documents and digital data was also seized after the raids on the entities and their associates.
The modus-operandi of "tax evasion" detected indicates that these contractors were involved in reducing their income by inflation of expenses by booking bogus purchases, non-genuine claim of expenses with sub-contractors and claiming ineligible expenses, it said.
The "irregularities" detected in utilisation of contract receipts has resulted in generation of "huge unaccounted cash" and creation of "undisclosed" assets, according to the CBDT.
"Evidence indicating inflation of expenses in the form of discrepancies in goods receipt note (GRN) validation have been unearthed during the search and evidence of huge discrepancies in documentation related to purchases booked and actual physical transport of goods have also been unearthed, with regard to bogus transactions with sub-contractors, some of whom were also covered during the search," the statement said.
These contractors, it claimed, were also involved in booking expenses for non-business purposes.
It said evidence related to "liaison expenses" was seized and large-scale unaccounted cash transactions, not found recorded in the account books, have also been found during the search from the premises of the assessees, sub-contractors, and associates, including certain cash handlers.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
