IT sleuths detect tax evasion by promoters of meat factory in Sambhal

A massive tax evasion racket has come to light in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, involving the promoters of Indian Frozen Food, a company engaged in the meat trade.

During a recent investigation by the Income Tax (I-T) Department, officials discovered that the company had opened numerous bogus firms in the names of its own employees to facilitate large-scale tax evasion, sources said on Friday.

Advertisement

According to the sources, at least a dozen fake companies were identified, through which significant financial irregularities were being carried out. Large sums of money were being withdrawn in cash from the bank accounts of these shell companies, with no proper documentation of the expenditures. It is alleged that the illicit earnings were used to purchase valuable properties in Sambhal, including land and a commercial building.

The I-T Department is also probing the ownership and funding sources of these properties. Initial findings during the raids point to tax evasion of nearly Rs 400 crore. Officials also seized approximately Rs 4 crore worth of gold and jewellery and around Rs 2 crore in cash.

The I-T teams conducted simultaneous raids on October 13 across more than 30 locations, including Sambhal, Bareilly, Moradabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ghaziabad, and Delhi. The search operations continued till Thursday at several premises.

During the raids, the department seized key documents related to fake firms, undisclosed bank accounts, and properties. Several employees were interrogated, including those in whose names bogus firms had been registered and used for conducting illegal financial transactions in the meat trade.

Investigators are closely examining cash withdrawals from these fake firms’ accounts over the past few years and how the funds were ultimately invested. Many employees reportedly fled, leaving their mobile phones behind during the raids. At some places in Sambhal, women were allegedly used to obstruct
IT officials.

Police assistance was sought to manage the situation.

Sources confirm that the raids followed multiple complaints about large-scale tax evasion by Indian Frozen Food. Several other firms linked to the meat trade are now under scrutiny as part of the ongoing investigation.