A retired top bureaucrat from Haryana who was posted as the principal secretary to former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda allegedly laundered money through shell companies to rake in 5,000 percent tax-free return, DNA has learnt.

According to documents accessed by this newspaper, former IAS officer ML Tayal and his family members were the beneficiaries of an organised scam that took advantage of tax exemption that was earlier available on long-term capital gain.

Tayal and his son Kartik sold shares of Kappac Pharma, which was listed on Bombay Stock Exchange and was later found to be a shell firm, to 18 bogus companies to route ill-gotten money. The dealings were done through Kolkata-based operators. DNA perused the trade ledger accounts of the Tayal family.

The Tayals came under scanner after the Income Tax department's Kolkata wing, led by Dhruv Purari Singh, raided 84 BSE-listed companies. The operation was part of the government's crackdown on black money and traced unaccounted money worth Rs 38,000 crore. Kappac Pharma was one of them.

Tax documents show that the Tayal family settled nearly Rs 10 crore cash through two hawala operators, identified as Alok Harlalka and Devesh Kumar Upadhya. I-T sources said the operators in 2013 told the Tayals to invest in Kappac shares for Rs 13 a piece. While the purchase of shares was done in physical form, the payment was made online to make the transactions appear genuine.

The stock was artificially inflated to Rs 734 per share in a year. Once the price touched the pre-agreed level, the operators asked the Tayals to sell a specific number of shares to dummy buyers.

Sources said brokers at BSE facilitated the transactions. They sought a nominal commission in cash on net pre-arranged capital gain incomes, which was earned by rigging shares. Finally, Tayal managed to get a fat cheque as tax-free long-term capital gain.

"I was earning commission on income by arranging and providing accommodation entry to various corporate clients through LTCG," Harlalika told I-T officials. Documents show that Harlalka earned 0.05 percent commission in the trading of eight companies including Kappac Pharma. Upadhya too accepted his role as a money launderer, said I-T sources.

Usually, investigators crack an average two layers in a case, but Dhruv Singh and his team dug down to six layers.

Tayal's son Kartik has denied the allegations in his statement to the I-T department. He said, "These are the genuine transactions in share through the stock exchange." After the I-T action, the trading of Kappac shares on BSE was suspended.

Currently, the Central Bureau of Investigation is preparing to file a charge sheet in the matter, while the Enforcement Directorate has registered a case of money laundering.

How The Dirty Cash Was Cleaned