I-T sleuths’ realty jackpot find Rs111crore black money

In a major haul of black money, income-tax (I-T) officials uncovered a whopping Rs111 crore of unaccounted wealth from city realtors during the two-month operation that included raids and surveys. The operation came to an end on Wednesday.

The amount is said to be the biggest haul of black money in the state. The operation had covered over a dozen realtors located in the western part of the city.

According to I-T officials around a dozen realtors who had business transactions with a major builder disclosed unaccounted money to the tune of Rs111 crore. Further, in the operation, a total of Rs3.58 crore wass seized including Rs1 crore cash and Rs85 lakh in gold and diamond jewellery.

"The operation which began on July 21 this year was concluded on September 21. In the operation, we raided 33 locations and surveyed 20 places belonging to these groups. The operations were conducted at Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Nagpur and Mumbai among others simultaneously," official sources said.

Sources said that the groups have mainly invested in land and construction in areas such as Nikol and Vastral among others. According to officials, the disclosure happens to be one of the biggest black money cases in the state so far.

Earlier, the taxmen had unearthed unaccounted money to the tune of Rs101 crore from three groups involved in manufacturing of confectionery in Surendranagar and one involved in the textile business in Ahmedabad.