The Income Tax Department claimed on Saturday that actor Sonu Sood evaded more than Rs 20 crore in taxes. Several of the actor’s houses in Mumbai and Lucknow have been raided by the department.
According to NDTV, the department stated in a statement that the ‘Dabangg’ actor’s non-profit received over Rs 2.1 crore from international contributors using a crowdfunding website. It claimed the transaction violated the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, which controls such transactions.
“During a search of the actor’s and his colleagues’ homes, damning material relating to tax fraud was discovered. The actor’s major strategy had been to channel his unexplained income through fraudulent unsecured loans from several fictitious organizations “According to the department’s statement.
“The total amount of tax evasion discovered thus far exceeds 20 crores.”
The move was taken against the 48-year-old actor and several others associated with him on Wednesday, with sources claiming that recent transactions between Sood and a Lucknow-based real estate business were under investigation.
The operation was carried out in at least a half-dozen sites around the metropolitan metropolis and Lucknow on Wednesday.
During the statewide lockdown imposed last year in the aftermath of the COVID-19 epidemic, the actor gained national attention for assisting migrants in reaching their home states.
The Delhi government, led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, recently announced that Sood will be the brand ambassador for the Aam Aadmi Party’s ‘Desh ka mentors’ initiative, through which children will be advised in their career choices. On Saturday, Kejriwal stated that Sood had the prayers of lakhs of Indian families who had sought his help in tough times.
A number of political groups, notably the Shiv Sena and the AAP, have questioned the timing of the searches on Sood. The BJP, on the other hand, has denied any relation between the raids and Sood’s cooperation with AAP.