Niira Radia under I-T scanner; more trouble on the anvil

New Delhi, May 31: Corporate lobbyist Niira Radia"s troubles seem to boil over manifold with the latest submission from the Income Tax department. The I-T department in its report to the Supreme Court has stated that they will probe Radia for possible tax evasion charges on account of inputs received after raids on two alleged hawala operators, Anil Bansal and Radhey Shyam Bansal.

The Bansal brothers were infamous for assisting people convert their unaccounted money into legitimate funds by charging a fee for the cover. They conducted their operations by doing transactions through a maze of bank accounts.

The I-T department along with the CBI had conducted a raid on the Bansal brothers on Apr 11, 2011. The report submitted to the apex court also said that Radia"s phone intercepts pointed at her links with the Bansal"s but have not revealed the exact nature of the link.

A spokesperson from Vaishnavi Communications, Radia"s firm has however denied all links with the Bansal brothers and stated in its response to the Times of India, “The suggestion of Radia's link with Bansal and his brother is clearly part of a sustained defamatory campaign to malign Niira Radia's image and reputation. Any such suggestion is absolutely false and misleading. We clearly and unequivocally deny any, however miniscule, association with Anil Bansal and R S Bansal."

The spokesperson also added, “We have extended all cooperation to the investigative agencies and repose complete faith in them. We are deeply anguished at the attempt to malign our reputation on the basis of unverified and unidentified sources at the behest of vested corporate interests."

Radia"s phone calls along with those of her associates were intercepted after approvals from the Home Ministry for a period of two months in 2008. Another interception was carried out for a period of 60 days from May 11, 2009. The calls contained sensitive information pertaining to transactions by telecom companies who gained 2G licenses.

The report to the top court also stated that the investigations into the telecom companies who were entangled in the 2G scam was in the advanced stages with the information being forwarded to the assessment wing in order to reassess their incomes. The probe has revealed that unaccounted transactions were carried out in the financial year 2008-2009.

The I-T department also intends to publish the names of all tax defaulters soon.

OneIndia News