ED searches tax advisers, CAs in Delhi

New Delhi: The ED on Thursday conducted multiple searches against tax advisors and chartered accountants in Delhi in connection with an operation to unearth black money being generated using shell companies.

Officials said ED searched premises of tax advisors in Karol Bagh, Laxmi Nagar, Model Town, Azadpur, Dilshad Garden and few other areas as part of their probe in the generation of alleged stash funds to the tune of thousands of crores.

They said the agency is carrying out the raids as part of its mandate to check money laundering and hawala like transactions by usage of shell firms by misusing banking channels.

A clutch of over two dozen CAs, company secretaries and other tax professionals are being searched, they said, adding the action is part of a follow up of the country-wide searches the agency carried out early this month against 500 shell companies suspected to be generating huge amounts of black money.

Also, certain cases of huge cash deposits, in which the agency had arrested two brothers, made by the tax professionals is under the scanner of the agency.

The ED had conducted nationwide raids on April 1 as part of its operation against shell firms.