KGF: Chapter 1 actor Yash and co-producer Vijay Kirangandur are among the many celebrities whose houses and offices were raided by Income Tax officials on Thursday morning in an attempt to clamp down on tax evasion practises prevalent in the Kannada film industry.
Notably, KGF: Chapter 1, one of the most expensive Kannada films to be ever made, was also released in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. Directed by Prashanth Neel, the film has earned over Rs 30 crore in its Hindi release alone and is inching closer towards the Rs 150 crore mark at the global box office.
Meanwhile, Income Tax officials swooped down on the properties of several other noted members of the Sandalwood film industry, including actor-producer Shiva Rajkumar, Puneet Rajkumar (sons of Dadasab awardee late Raj Kumar), producers Rockline Ventakesh, CR Manohar, Jayanna, and actors Sudeep and Yash.
IT department sources said simultaneous raids were conducted at 25 locations across Bengaluru and elsewhere. Over 200 IT officials are still reported checking the documents in the many locations with support of the Karnataka police. Family members of the actors and producers under scanner have been asked to not interfere.
Apart from the Kannada flim insudtry, The Income Tax Department also raided popular hotel and restaurant chains such as Saravana Bhavan, Hot Bread, Anjappal and Grand Sweets on charges of alleged tax evasion.
According to initial reports, there were allegations that producers were making huge investments in films to legitimise their black money, earning large profits in the process, which too went unreported and undocumented.
Document verification and the raids are still underway.Follow @News18Movies for more.
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