Guj realtor surfaces, says `13k cr not his

A day after tax sleuths launched a search for a “missing” Gujarat real estate businessman who had declared unaccounted income of `13,860 crore, he surfaced on TV and claimed he was just a face for money belonging to others.

Ahmedabad-based realtor Mahesh Shah, 67, maintained he did not have any black money. “Kuch Hindustanio ka paisa hai (the money belongs to some Indians),” he said on Gujarati ETV on Saturday.

Shah said he would contact the I-T department and give the names of those who had convinced him to declare their unaccounted income as his own. “I am going to fully cooperate with the I-T department because now I want to raise the curtain on the mystery.”

The realtor, whose business interests are mostly in Mumbai, was “missing” after he defaulted on the first tax instalment of over `1,500 crore on the amount he had disclosed. He was supposed to pay the instalment by November 30 as a part of the amnesty called the income declaration scheme (IDS).

Shah said “something happened” following which he

Kuch Hindustanio ka paisa hai (the money belongs to some Indians). I am going to fully cooperate with the I-T department because now I want to raise the curtain on the mystery MAHESH SHAH, Ahmedabad-based realtor

could not pay the first instalment. “The due date of the first instalment was November 30, but the I-T department was at my residence for a survey on November 28,” he said. The I-T department has cancelled his IDS claim.

Shah said he was aware the amount he had declared was huge and he knew the consequences. He claimed he was confident all the instalments would be paid. The realtor, however, said he feared for himself and his family’s security.

Taxmen and police came for him before he could act on his claims. Shah, who hit the TV screens around 6 pm, was picked up by I-T officials and Ahmedabad police, from the studio around 8pm.