In a major revelation, the Income Tax Department accused Bollywood actor Sonu Sood of financial irregularities worth over £25 million by way of unutilised charitable funds, bogus contracts and circular transactions with one of his partner companies, and diverting funds to evade taxes. The disclosures came after IT sleuths’ swoop for two days on some 28 premises in Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Kanpur and Gurugram in one of the biggest such investigative actions on any actor or entities linked with him.
In a rare official statement, the Income Tax Department, without naming him, has said that Sood evaded tax worth £2 million so far, besides listing other alleged wrongdoings. An NGO, ‘SOOD Charity Foundation’, launched by the actor in July 2020 collected donations of £1.89 million till date of which it spent only £190,000 towards various relief measures (for migrants), and the rest lies in the bank accounts.
The SOOD Charity Foundation also raised another £210,000 from abroad through a crowd-funding platform, violating provisions of the FCRA, said the tax department. Raids on a Lucknow-based infrastructure company with which Sood had entered into a tie-up for a realty project brought out more financial improprieties. Detailing them, the IT Department said the group was involved in generating fake bills of subcontracts to siphon off funds worth around £6.5 million. The group has also indulged in dubious circular transactions worth £17.5 million with a realty company based in Jaipur.
The IT Department has seized £180,000 cash besides sealing 11 bank lockers. It said that he routed his ‘black money’ income in the form of bogus unsecured loans from many fake entities. The probe found at least 20 such entries. These bogus loans, in turn, were ploughed back for making investments and acquiring properties.
The revelations signal a setback for Sood, who scaled pinnacles of popularity during the pandemic by helping the migrants reach their homes. Incidentally, Sood’s ‘Pravasirojgar’ initiative entered into a joint venture with an Indian company backed by a Singapore-backed group with an investment of £25 million, to provide employment to Indian youth.
Sood who remained tight- lipped on the matter so far, took to social media to write, “you don't always have to tell your story. Time will tell. I have pledged to myself to the service of the people of India with all my strength and heart.”
