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Guilty will be imprisoned, says minister

Fakir Chand In Bangalore

Union Minister of State for Finance V Dhananjaya Kumar Saturday declared that cricketers, officials and bookies, whose homes and offices were raided in the last two days, would be imprisoned for three to seven years if found guilty of evading income tax and concealing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income.

Giving an overall account of the nationwide raids conducted by the Income Tax authorities in tandem with the Central Bureau of Investigation, Kumar said the raids led to a rich haul of concrete evidence in terms of incriminating documents, lockers, diaries, property records, bank accounts, letters, invaluable gifts and prizes.

"With the formal completion of the first round of raids, the stage is set for filing charges against the guilty, and a notification will be sent to those booked, to respond within 60 days. The punishment will include levying 69 per cent of non-declaration of income on time against the statutory 34.5 per cent; prosecution for not filing the returns and nonpayment of personal or wealth taxes, and cross-examination for false verification."

The law also contemplates varying terms of punishment, including imprisonment for 3-7 years depending on the degree of tax evasion and the magnitude of the amounts and violations involved, the minister asserted.

"We have gathered tangible evidence to prove the concealment of massive wealth and mass evasion of taxes, besides proof of match-fixing showing direct nexus between players, cricket administrative officials, and the bookies involved in the national game over the years."

Asked whether the evidence and the materials seized during the raids would stand the scrutiny of the courts or the test of the law, Kumar said as far as the IT department is concerned, action would be taken to collect what is due to the government, whereas the criminal aspects of the raids would be taken up by the appropriate agencies.

Declining to elaborate on the details of evidence and seizures made during the raids, Kumar said further disclosures would only preempt the ongoing investigations by the IT as well as CBI. "As none of those involved will be making frank admissions that what ever was found to be in their lockers belongs to them the officials have to establish connections between what have been seized and the documents recovered as evidence."

When reminded about WorldTel chief Mark Mascarenhas's threat to sue him for labelling him (Mark) a bookie, Kumar denied making such an allegation but claimed that the evidence found and documents seized from the WorldTel office and Mark's residence in Bangalore does prove that there is a nexus between match-fixing and the undisclosed accounts.

"Now it is up to Mark to prove his role with evidence that would refute the proof the investigators have stumbled upon during the raids. The inquiries are half-way through; let us wait for them to be completed. The media will be kept informed from time to time on the entire episode. There will be more facts and figures forthcoming in the near future. Moreover, Mark is neither a cricketer nor a cricket manager," Kumar affirmed.

The minister said he did not wish to say more on the raids in view of the ensuing monsoon session of Parliament, beginning July 24. "I will be making a statement in the lower house with all records and documents as I am answerable to Parliament on the whole issue," he added.