UP Businessman Piyush Jain Raided By I-T Dept, Over Rs 175 Crore Found in Cash

A perfume trader, Jain is reportedly close to Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav.

Cash worth Rs 177.45 crore has been recovered during Income Tax raids on premises linked to Kanpur businessman Piyush Jain, who is a perfume trader.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

Cash worth Rs 177.45 crore has been found so far during Income Tax raids on premises linked to Kanpur businessperson Piyush Jain. The I-T raids, which began on Thursday, 23 December, were conducted at the house, factory, office, cold store, and petrol pump linked to Jain in Kanpur, Kannauj, Mumbai, and Gujarat.

"This is the biggest recovery in the history of the CBIC. No arrest has taken place so far," Vivek Johri, the Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), told news agency ANI on Friday.

The raids are being held by the Ahmedabad branch of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) with the help of local central GST officers, as per reports.

The perfume trader, Jain, is reportedly close to Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav.

Visuals of his properties capture note-counting machines scattered on the floor, surrounded by piles of cash bound in plastic and tape.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

More About Piyush Jain And the Raids

Piyush Jain, a resident of Anandpuri, belongs to Chhipatti in Kannauj. He owns a house, perfume factory, cold store, petrol pump in Kannauj, reported IANS.

According to officials, the businessman has around 40 companies, including two in the Middle East.

"He is mainly into the perfumery business with its base in Kannauj, while the group owns a showroom in Mumbai from where perfumes are sold all over the country and abroad," officials told IANS.

The cash recovered from the premises is part of the sales proceeds, which were secretly stored in the house. The pan masala trader has said to have committed massive tax evasion, reported ANI.

The DGGI's team is matching the sale of pan masala to figure out the amount of total tax evasion by the company while Rs 3.09 crore has been recovered till now towards tax due with Trimurti fragrance.

Another transporter, M/s Ganpati Road Carriers has admitted to goods being transported without e-way bills with fake invoices. The payment was reportedly being taken in cash. Nearly 200 fake invoices have been recovered from the premises, reported ANI.

(With inputs from IANS and NDTV.)