The Income Tax department on Thursday confiscated over Rs 4.5 crore, mostly in new notes, from two individuals, during a surprise check in Bengaluru for fresh currency stashes.
The banknotes were retrieved during searches on premises of an engineer and a civil contractor, the department said.
While Rs 4.7 cr of the seized money was in the new Rs 2000 banknotes, the rest of the Rs 30 lakh comprised of Rs 100 and demonetised Rs 500, the officials said.
Also, 7 kg gold bullion, worth approximately Rs 2 crore was found in the contractor’s house.
“Huge stacks of Rs 2000 notes have been recovered. The cash amounts to over Rs four crore. The counting of the seized currency is still on. “This is one the biggest seizures of the new currency. Some entry operators and bankers are under scanner,” a senior I-T department official said.
The department also found many ID cards on the premises, which may have been used to illegally exchange the old currency, the department officials suspected.
