The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has reported that actor Sonu Sood and his business associates have evaded taxes worth over Rs20 crore, according to the news agency Asian News International (ANI).
Several locations in Mumbai, Lucknow, Kanpur, Jaipur, Delhi and Gurugram belonging to the actor and his associates were raided this week. The income-tax department was looking into a deal between a company of Sood’s and a real-estate firm based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
The CBDT alleged, “During the course of search at the premises of the actor and his associates, incriminating evidence pertaining to tax evasion [has been] found. The main modus operandi followed by the actor had been to route his unaccounted income in form of bogus unsecured loans from many bogus entities.”
These bogus loans were made to make investments and buy properties, the board claimed.
Furthermore, it said the actor’s charity foundation only spent Rs1.90 crore from donations amounting to Rs18.94 crore that it received between April and September 2021.
It also stated, according to a report in the Financial Express newspaper, “It is seen that funds to the tune of Rs2.1 crore have also been raised by the charity foundation from overseas donors on a crowdfunding platform in violation of FCRA [Foreign Contributions (Regulations) Act] regulations."
The department also claimed to have seized Rs1.8 crore in cash and put 11 lockers belonging to Sood under a prohibitory order.
The actor turned philanthropist last year during the pandemic, arranging for buses to take migrants home. Since then he has been working for charitable causes helping needy people with all sort of conditions.
In April and May this year, he even arranged for oxygen cylinders for those undergoing COVID-19 treatment in hospitals across the country.
This past month, Sood was named brand ambassador for the Delhi’s government's Desh Ke Mentor programme.