Crores on wheels: How a TN contractor parked black money in cars scattered around Salem

The raids were conducted on the properties belonging to Nagarajan Seyyadurai, the Managing director of SPK and Co Expressway Pvt Ltd.

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Following the Income Tax raid on SPK group, a highway contractor based in Tamil Nadu on Monday, the officials are reported to have recovered Rs 163 crore in unaccounted cash and gold bullion. Sources in the Income Tax department tell TNM that much of this cash was recovered from cars that had been parked elsewhere by Nagarajan Seyyadurai, the Managing Director of the SPK group.

Here are 6 things you should know about the raids:

1. The raids were conducted on the properties belonging to Nagarajan Seyyadurai, the Managing director of SPK and Co Expressway Pvt Ltd, who was also previously alleged by the DMK to be a benami of Chief Minister Edapaddi Palaniswami.

2. The Income Tax department said, "The main assessee has accumulated unaccounted cash of Rs 163 crore and gold bullion of over 100 kg which were recovered and seized from 10 places where he had parked them for safe custody. Apart from the unaccounted assets, several incriminating documents in the form of loose sheets, diaries, registers and hard disks were also seized. He had kept cash of only Rs 24 lakh in his house and parked the remaining cash and gold in 10 different places of his employees and associates including in two BMW cars".

3. According to a source, Nagarajan had parked many of his cars at his friends’ places under the pretext that his garage was being renovated. One such car was recovered from the parking lot of a man closely related to a politician in a district close to Salem. When the man confessed to Income Tax department sleuths that the car was not his, the driver of the car was made to come and unlock it. Around Rs 20 crore cash was recovered from this car alone.

4. The officials are reported to have said that the cash was kept in big travel bags and in parked cars, and that dozens of gold biscuits have been recovered till now. The searches are expected to continue for another day, said the officials.

5. This is reportedly one of the highest recoveries so far from a raid done anywhere in the country.

6. Sources in the AIADMK say that their leadership is rattled by the raids.

Also read: IT raids on offices, properties belonging to TN highways contractor