Today, the income tax authorities claimed in a statement that actor Sonu Sood avoided taxes worth over 20 crores after searching his Mumbai residence for three days. Mr. Sood, 48, recently announced a partnership with Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party administration in Delhi.
According to the tax department, Mr. Sood’s non-profit also received 2.1 crores from overseas contributors using a crowdfunding website, in breach of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, which controls such transactions.
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According to the allegations against the actor, whose philanthropic efforts for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic have garnered widespread praise, his non-profit Sood Charity Foundation, which was established in July last year during the first wave of the COVID pandemic, received donations totaling over 18 crores between July and April this year, of which 1.9 crores were spent on relief work, and the remaining 17 crores sat unused.
According to sources, “a recent agreement between Sonu Sood’s company and a Lucknow-based real estate firm is under investigation,” and the survey operation was launched in response to suspicions of tax fraud in this transaction.
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The Lucknow organization is accused of falsifying subcontracting expenditures and diverting cash, according to the report. According to the tax department. The Maharashtra government’s Shiv Sena and the Aam Aadmi Party have raised concerns about the timing of the searches at Sonu Sood’s residence. Mr. Sood’s association with the AAP, according to the BJP, has nothing to do with the searches.
