The Income Tax Department says that Sonu Sood has used ‘Bogus Loans’ for investment, loans, & properties and evaded taxes for over 20 crore rupees.
The Dabangg villain, Sonu Sood, who fetched popularity last year for his philanthropic contributions to society in times of the pandemic, is in the ‘breaking news’ this year too. But this year, he has been gaining negative attention from his fans and the Bollywood fraternity as the theme has moved from ‘helping people’ to ‘tax evasion’. One of the statements issued by the income tax department mentions that the “actor has evaded taxes of more than ₹20 crores”.
The IT department visited Sonu Sood’s home as well as of his associates’ in Mumbai for three consecutive days. During this 3-days hunt, the IT department discovered incriminating evidence pertaining to tax evasion. The actor is also claimed to manifest his unaccounted income in the form of fake unsecured loans from several fake institutions.
The IT department has unearthed 5 major allegations against the actor.
Keep reading to know all of them…
The tax department says that “Investigations so far have revealed use of 20 such entries, the providers of which, on examination, have accepted on oath to have given bogus accommodation entries. They have accepted to have issued cheques in lieu of cash. There have been instances where professional receipts have been camouflaged as loans in the books of accounts for the purpose of evasion of tax. It has also been revealed that these bogus loans have been used for making investments and acquiring properties. The total amount of tax evaded unearthed so far, amounts to more than ₹ 20 crores”.
Another allegation against the actor is about the money that was collected last year for his philanthropic efforts when COVID-19 was at its peak. He established an NGO named Sood Charity Foundation in July 2019 for helping those who were in dire need. As per the calculations done by the IT department, the foundation earned over ₹18 crores till April’21, out of which only ₹1.9 crores has been expended on relief work. The remaining ₹16.1 crores have not been utilized at all.
Sources also claim that Sood Charity Foundation has made a joint-venture deal with a Lucknow-based real estate firm. The foundation invested substantial funds in the deal (which were collected as donations) and hence executed irregularities in financial accounts.
The IT department not only trailed the houses of Sonu Sood as well as of his associates, but it also carried out search operations side by side at the premises of the Lucknow-based real-estate firm. The department alleges the Lucknow group is involved in the fake billings of contracting expenditure to divert funds. The billings of such contracts are so far over ₹65 crores.
One of the claims publicly disclosed by the IT department states that Sood Charity Foundation also raised ₹2.1 crores from foreign donors through a crowdfunding platform and failed to inform the authorities. This action stands in violation of the laws as the amount raised through crowdfunding platforms should be governed by Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.
According to indian rules and regulations, the income tax department can seize the following types of assets:
- Undeclared cash, jewellery
- Books of accounts, challan, diaries, etc.
- Computer chips and other data storage devices
- Documents relating to property, deed of conveyances, etc.
During the investigation, undeclared cash of ₹1.8 crores has also been seized from Sood’s residence.
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The 48-year old actor recently announced his collaboration with Arvind Kejriwal’s leading party, AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) for ‘Desh ka Mentor’ programme. Sonu Sood has been appointed as brand ambassador specifically for this programme as last year, the actor went beyond to help people from all kinds of backgrounds. This programme aims to solve students’ issues pertaining to career opportunities.
The deal happened a few weeks ago and the IT department has been questing actor’s home, his associates’ home, his foundation’s premises, Lucknow-based real estate’s premises for about a week now. Maharashtra’s ruling party, Shiv Sena, and the AAP are questioning the timings of this tax hunt. Arvind Kejriwal exhibited his support towards the actor in his recent tweets.
“सच्चाई के रास्ते पर लाखों मुश्किलें आती हैं, लेकिन जीत हमेशा सच्चाई की ही होती है। @SonuSood जी के साथ भारत के उन लाखों परिवारों की दुआएं हैं जिन्हें मुश्किल घड़ी में सोनू जी का साथ मिला था”, Kejriwal wrote.
To know how Cheddi Singh’s tax evasion saga ends, stay tuned to CuriousKeeda.
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