IT Dept seizes Rs 77 crore unaccounted cash in searches in Tamil Nadu

The Income Tax (IT) department seized unaccounted cash of approximately Rs 77 crore in searches conducted at about 38 premises of a group, linked to the movie industry, in Chennai and Madurai.

According to the press release, the IT department "conducted a search in the case of four major players in the film industry including a producer, a prominent actor, his distributor and financier based in Tamil Nadu. The common thread among all these entities was the success of a recent film which was a box office hit collecting around Rs 300 crore."

"The highlight of the search is the seizure of unaccounted cash of about Rs 77 crore from hideouts and secret places located at Chennai and Madurai, purportedly belonging to the financier. Large number of property documents, promissory notes, postdated cheques taken as collateral security were recovered during the search and have been seized," the release added.

According to the evidence recovered during the IT search, it is estimated that the concealment by the accused is likely to exceed Rs 300 crore.

The release added that the distributor is also involved in the profession of construction.