Income Tax Department raids premises of Chinese entities, local contacts in money laundering case

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New Delhi: The Income Tax Department on Tuesday (August 11) conducted a search on the premises of Chinese entities after getting credible information that few Chinese individuals and their Indian associates were involved in money laundering and hawala transactions through series of shell entities, according to a CBDT statement. 

Search action was conducted at various premises of these Chinese entities, their close confederates, and a couple of bank employees in Delhi, Gurugram, and Ghaziabad, the CBDT said.

The search action has revealed that at the behest of Chinese individuals, more than 40 bank accounts were created in various dummy entities, entering into credits of more than Rs 1000 crores over the period. 

A subsidiary of Chinese company and its related concerns have taken over Rs 100 crores bogus advances from shell entities for opening businesses of retail showrooms in India. 

Further, incriminating documents in respect of hawala transactions and laundering of money with the active involvement of bank employees and Chartered accountants have been found as a result of search action, the CBDT said. 

Evidences of foreign hawala transactions involving Hong Kong and US dollars have also been unearthed, it said, adding that further investigations are under progress.