Truth and lies
Lie 1 About Rs 8.5 crores of cash sent by car from Chennai to
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Fact: Rs 8.49 crores was deposited in two separate accounts of Sadiq Shaikh’s brother and friend
Lie 2: Sadiq Shaikh said he received funds to buy Sancoale property through a loan. There was no document to prove this
Fact: This cash belonged to Mr Sadiq which was part of the amount received from Mr N Suryanarayana as evidenced by the seizure at his residence. (I-T observation). This amount was used to purchase Sancoale property, later transferred to company of Monserrate’s son Rohit
TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: First came the story of bribes being paid to Babush Monserrate. Now read how some of these bribes were paid.
Here is one story. A cash of Rs 8.5 crore was supposedly transported from Chennai to
In reality, this was black money meant for bribes to be paid to then TCP Minister Babush Monserrate by his middleman Sadiq Shaikh. The entire story of cash being transported to pay for land for a shooting company was concocted, according to I-T investigations.
This is the continuation of the astonishing trail of Babush Monserrate I-T scam, wherein he was paid Rs 26.58 crore for conversion of the agricultural and orchard land.
Sadiq Shaikh, chairman of Panjim-based Essar Builders, who acted as a mediator between Babush and property buyers, had purchased a property of Rs 11.58 crore at Sancoale from Anand Vishnu Naik.
This is the same property which was transferred without receipt of sale consideration of Rs 11.58 crore to M/s Good Earth, a firm in which Rohit Monserrate, Babush’s son is the only contributing partner.
When I-T officials asked Sadiq to prove the sources of the payment made of Rs 11.58 crore to Anand Vishnu Naik, he stated that the purchase was financed partly by a loan of Rs 8.49 crore but failed to give evidence. Extensive search at his office brought to notice that an amount of Rs 8.49 crore was shown as a liability in the name of M/s Prasad Properties.
“When asked to give details, Sadiq Shaikh stated that the above amount was received from M/s Prasad under agreement dated 22/12/2006, wherein it was claimed that Prasad Properties will invest Rs 8.5 crore and Sadiq Shaikh will invest Rs 3 crore for the Sancoale plot of two lakh sq mt.
However, extensive search failed to reveal any documents suggesting that Rs 8.49 crore was a loan to Sadiq.
Inquiries with bank revealed that Rs 8.49 crore was credited in Sadiq’s DCB account in
The Income Tax in the assessment order of ex-bureaucrat
The arrangement is nothing but a colourable devise made to camouflage the true nature of the source of the cash of Rs 8.5 crore. It is a colour of genuine transaction and to hoodwink the tax authorities and court,” the document says.
“This cash belonged to Sadiq which was part of the amount received from
The order further stated, “It is highly improbable that such a huge cash of Rs 8.49 crore was carried from Chennai to
“This amount was credited only five days before they gave a so called loan to Sadiq on 15/3/2007,” the document says.
I-T officials then investigated the partners of Prasad Properties and it was found that the company was dissolved within a year of the formation.
Mr A Manohar Prasad, A Ravisankar Prasad, M/s Ravisankar Industries Pvt Ltd, Anandram Developers Pvt Ltd, Gemini Foundations Pvt Ltd, Vijay Kumar Rao and Siraj Shaikh were the partners in the firm.
A company without a PAN card, bank accounts or I-T returns
Excerpts of the I-T Department’s interrogation of Manohar Prasad, partner in Prasad Properties to prove how the whole exercise was a sham
Q) Was Prasad property actively involved in setting up of the studio in
Ans: We have abandoned the project and M/s Prasad Properties also dissolved.
Q) Do you have PAN for Prasad Properties and have you filed Income Tax returns regularly?
Ans: No, we have not obtained PAN for M/s Prasad Properties. No returns were filed so far.
Q) Do you have any bank accounts?
Ans: No, the firm does not have any bank accounts.
Q) How did you transfer Rs 8.5 crore of cash to
Ans: Cash was transported by our shooting vehicle.
Q) Can you tell which vehicle was used for the transport?
Ans: I do not know.
Q) Why the banking channels were not used to remit the money to Siraj Shaikh and Vijay Kumar?
Ans: Since we were making them payment in cash, 40 per cent discount per acres in return was promised to us on the prevailing market on that date.
Q) What is the surety you are holding against the repayment by the above persons?
Ans: We do not have any written confirmation except for Sadiq’s oral confirmation and intention to settle us.
