Chennai: The Income Tax (I-T) department carried out raids for the second consecutive day at V V Minerals, where they enquired its owner S Vaikundarajan.
The I-T staff also continued searches at his office at Egmore. According to sources, the company was allegedly sending mineral sand from Tamilnadu to Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh. Using Vishakapatanam port it was being sent to foreign countries including Sri Lanka.
The I-T team seized seven foreign investment document, Rs seven crore in cash and gold jewellery. The officials are also going through the business investments in other countries.
On Thursday, I-T officials conducted raids at over 100 locations belonging to Vaikundarajan. Several teams launched searches at his corporate office at Pantheon Road, Egmore and another office at Thiruvanmiyur.
The officials did not disclose the reason for the ‘surprise’ raids. But it is alleged that the searches were done based on reports that illegal and unaccounted income is allegedly being pumped into his other business-like educational institutions and hotels.
Vaikundarajan operates India’s largest mining, manufacture and export of garnet and Ilmenite with significant market share in Europe, Middle East, East Asia, Australia and USA.
The group owns various industries such as textiles, food and agro, minerals including chemical and pigments. A TV news channel – News 7 – owned by Vaikundarajan has also come under I-T searches.
So far, I-T teams conducted raids at eight places in Thoothukudi. They also searched premises belonging to V V Minerals in Coimbatore, Tirunelveli and Karaikal, and also in Vishakhapatnam and Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh. Vaikundarajan has investments in spinning, sugar mills, hotels, engineering colleges and some blue metal businesses.