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Tamil NaduPlan to bring Rs 200 crore hawala money in Tamil Nadu for Lok Sabha polls busted

Plan to bring Rs 200 crore hawala money in Tamil Nadu for Lok Sabha polls busted
An attempt to bring Rs 200 crore hawala money into Tamil Nadu for Lok Sabha elections was busted by Income Tax Department. The money was allegedly meant for a prominent political party in the southern state.

The tax department sleuths arrested one Vinoth Kumar Joseph from Chennai airport. (Representative image: PTI)

Pramod Madhav
Chennai,UPDATED: Apr 10, 2024 18:43 IST
Edited By: Vivek Kumar

Plan to bring Rs 200 Crore hawala money for polls thwarted
Income Tax officials arrest hawala trader at Chennai airport
Enforcement Directorate to further probe the matter
The Income Tax department on Wednesday thwarted an attempt to bring Rs 200 crore of hawala money into Tamil Nadu for a prominent political party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, sources said.

The tax department sleuths arrested one Vinoth Kumar Joseph, who was deported from Malaysia and was intercepted at the Chennai International Airport on April 7.

Upon questioning Vinoth, an Indian national, the Income Tax officials found that he was involved in a huge hawala trade that was operating from Dubai and Malaysia, the source added.

The I-T team seized a mobile phone, i-pad, and laptop from Joseph and discovered that he was attempting to syphon hawala money worth Rs 200 crore from Dubai to Chennai.

"It has been found from WhatsApp chats on his mobile phone that he was planning to bring Rs 200 crore from Dubai to Chennai through hawala for a prominent political party based in Tamil Nadu," sources in the I-T department said.

Officials have identified Appu, Selvam, Monika Virola and Suresh as other members of the team.

Further investigation into the matter is underway and the Enforcement Directorate is likely to take up the case.

Thirty-nine Lok Sabha seats from Tamil Nadu are set to go to polls in a single phase on April 19. Counting of votes will take place on June 4.
Published By:
Vivek
Published On:
Apr 10, 2024