Mumbai: Forget the politicians among black money holders. The magic wand of black money is indeed going places leaving no one untouched. And the latest being the celebrities from Bollywood who have their secret money placed in the Swiss bank accouts.
Highly placed sources in the Income Tax department (I-T) claim that out of 100 Mumbaikars, 10 odd Bollywood biggies and five odd celebrities down south are having Swiss Bank accounts, which are being scrutinised.
"Among the secret account holders are a couple of 'A' list stars who are on the verge of retirement, a few of whom have turned producers too. Apart from them, there are celebrities, who apparently have faded and are primarily doing television now. This trend is also seen common down south," said I-T sources.
Asked why none from the present generation is amongst the secret account holders, they said: "in the past, the trend has been such of investing black money in secret accounts. Gradually, it has changed into buying properties abroad or investing into business worldwide and earn profits. This seems to be an easy way of converting illicit wealth into white money and paying the deserving taxes for it."
To a question on why the names were kept secret, am I-T official said, "Under the policy, we cannot disclose the identity. Since the probe is on, revealing names would alert the account holders, who may smartly opt to close their accounts and escape investigations".
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Jodha Akbar
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