Bengaluru: The DGIT, (Investigation), Karnataka & Goa, has reportedly seized Rs 11.5 crore of unaccounted cash from the premises of Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar and his family members in the last 72 hours since they started the search and seizure operations in Delhi and Karnataka, said an official source. The operations in Bengaluru continued for the third day on Friday, he said. The Enforcement Directorate is likely to step in to examine if there was a case of money laundering that attracted violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, top sources said.
Two days after the Directorate of Income Tax (Investigation) conducted search and seizure operations at 60 locations in various places in Delhi and Karnataka to investigate alleged tax evasion by Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar, top sources said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is likely to step in to examine if there was a case of money laundering that attracted violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
“The Central agencies are closely watching the IT search and seizure operations at Mr Shivakumar and his family members’ premises and if there is any indication that money has been laundered and stashed offshore, he can be in bigger trouble,” said an official source on condition of anonymity.
Though there was no official comment by the DGIT, informed sources said that the search operations have opened a can of worms with several names of powerful and influential people coming out during the course of investigation.
“The Income Tax department will restrict itself to examining the extent of tax evasion and the volume of black money, but when the ED steps in, they will track the trail of money, Mr Shivakumar’s investments and his business interests in India and abroad, if any,” the officer said.
Meanwhile, according to sources in the Ministry of Finance, the DGIT was “well within its limits for requisition and deployment of the Central Reserve Police Force for the search operations,” on Mr Shivakumar’s premises. The state government has written to the revenue secretary, questioning the use of CRPF, a Central Armed Police Force, without consulting the state police.
