On 4 March, the Income Tax Department (IT Dept) carried out raids on properties linked to film producer Anurag Kashyap, actor Taapsee Pannu and many on the second day. On 3 March, the Income Tax Department began raiding 22 locations on properties linked to Kashyap, Pannu, Vikas Bahl, film producer Madhu Mantena and others in Mumbai, Pune as well as other destinations. The invasions are linked to the accusation of money laundering by Kashyap’s Phantom Films, which had been dissolved in 2018.
According to the reports, properties linked to Shibhashish Sarkar (CEO of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Entertainment), Afsar Zaidi (CEO Exceed) and Vijay Subramaniam (CEO Kwan Talent Management Agency) were also searched by the IT department.
Presently, further specifics on the IT raid have brought to fruition. Jitendra Sharma, a reporter with Zee News, provided the information of what the Income Tax Department found during the raids.
The Income Tax Department has said, “During the search, evidence of huge suppression of income by the leading Film Production house compared to the actual box office collections has been unearthed. The company officials have not been able to explain the discrepancy of around Rs. 300 crore. Evidence related to manipulation and under-valuation of share transactions of the production house amongst the film directors and shareholders, having tax implication of about Rs. 350 crore has been found and is being further investigated”.
In the this part, the Income Tax Department explained, in simple terms, that a major production house, probably Phantom Films, an organization established by Anurag Kashyap, Bahl, Mantena and Vikramaditya Motwane, had reduced their revenue compared to the overall box office collections. The Income Tax Department also noted that the company had not been attempted to define a discrepancy of Rs 300 crores.
The IT department has made more such shocking revelations.
The IT Department discovered cash receipts of Rs 5 crores from the ‘leading actress’ as during raids. Seeing as we realise that Taapsee Pannu has also been raided, there seems to be cause to suppose that the financial transactions have been retrieved from Pannu.
In additament, the IT Dept explained that falsified expenses on associated issues by leading producers/directors with financial implications of Rs. 20 crore has been discovered. Similar trends also have been found in the case of the leading actress.
While the search continues at all premises, 7 bank lockers have been seized by the IT department.
Times Now revealed that the IT Department had probed Anurag Kashyap and Taapsee Pannu for several hours on 3 March. It is not clear whether they’ll be investigated afterwards today.
According to findings, a number of shell corporations were sailed when Phantom Films was functional. The money have been parked in these companies. The I-T Department also believes that Kashyap and other directors of Phantom films have been using the capital to fund in properties and other investments. The involvement of Taapsee in the presumed money laundering was also alleged.
Importantly, the title of the Kwan Talent Management Agency has appeared recently in high-profile cases. Many other aspects of the case have also been probed following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in 2020. As during investigative process, proof of increased use of illicit drugs in Bollywood spurred an investigative process by the NCB. In September 2020, Kwan’s CEO was summoned to the Narcotics Control Bureau in correlation with narcotic use cases in Bollywood.
Madhu Mantena, who has been under IT scanner in current raids, was also summoned by NCB. Once Kwan’s name emerged in the news, its alleged dark side started to make headlines. Suchitra Krishnamoorti and Sharlyn Chopra made a series of allegations against the company. Actress Deepika Padukone’s NGO reportedly had a connection to Kwan. Anirban Das Blah, ex-owner of KWAN Entertainment, was associated with Deepika’s NGO. When his name first appeared in the “Me Too” movement in 2018, both KWAN and TLLLF issued a statement that they have removed Anirban from his respective positions in the organization.