New Delhi: Investigations by the income tax department have unearthed a syndicate operating in Mumbai that was converting scrapped currency into new legal tender for a commission of as high as 35%.

The income tax department seized Rs29.5 lakh from one of the culprits after a transaction was set up using decoy customers.

As per the modus operandi, local youths operating as ground-level operators would withdraw currency in legal denominations from their own or their relatives bank accounts as per the weekly limit of Rs24,000. This would then be passed on to an aggregator for a commission and receive old notes which they then deposited into their accounts. On the other hand, the mediator would look for customers who want to legalize their black money.

In another instance in Nagpur, Rs4.25 crore of funds were deposited in a family’s bank accounts opened without their knowledge and used for money laundering. These accounts were opened using copies of permanent account number and other documents that were shared previously by the family with a friend.

In another case unearthed in Ahmedabad, more than Rs27 lakh in Rs100 notes were found and seized at the premise of a transporter. These funds were seized from cartons which were supposed to contain firecrackers.

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