(ET)
The income-tax department is set to initiate proceedings against jeweller Nirav Modi, wanted in the Rs 14,000-crore Punjab National BankNSE 3.03 % (PNB) fraud, under the black money law that provides for imprisonment of up to seven years for not disclosing foreign assets.
The department has written to tax authorities in Jersey, the Bahamas, Cyprus, Singapore and Mauritius, seeking details of Modi’s accounts and entities linked with him. The Black Money(Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, was put in place as part of the government’s election pledge to root out unaccounted wealth and stamp out corruption.
Tax authorities have found that a number of overseas entities were used to direct funds to Indian companies in the case. They suspect the money may have been roundtripped using shell structures in the tax havens mentioned above.
