In one of the biggest hauls, a team of Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Ahmedabad, recovered Rs 177 crore of “unaccounted cash” from the residence of businessman Piyush Jain in Kanpur during a two-day raid on Thursday and Friday. More hidden money is likely to tumble out as some of his properties in Kannauj are still being searched.
The search teams combed 11 premises of Jain and two of his partners — one is a pan masala manufacturer and the other is a transporter. The premises included factory outlets, offices, cold storages and petrol pumps in Kanpur, Mumbai and Gujarat. The raids started simultaneously at 11am.
Officials said tax evasion of more than Rs 3 crore through shell companies was discovered. “Jain took loans in the name of shell companies and has huge foreign transactions,” a source said, adding, “Documents are being scrutinised. SBI officials are helping count the seized money.”
Jain, who is originally from Chhipatti in Kannauj, is known primarily as a perfume merchant. He has around 40 companies, including two in West Asia, and owns a house, head office and a showroom in Mumbai.
Explaining the modus operandi, sources in the department said multiple invoices, all below Rs 50,000 for a truckload, were generated in the name of fake firms to avoid paying GST. They added that 200 fake invoices were found and more than Rs 1 crore was seized from the transporter.