IT sleuths seize $5 bn from would-be oil baron
03 Jan 2013
Income tax investigators have seized US Treasury bonds said to be worth close to Rs28,000 crore ($5 billion) in a raid on the premises of a businessman in Tirupur district of Tamil Nadu.
T M Ramalingam, the person concerned, says he is a financial broker and business consultant in Dharapuram town of the district.
The raids were carried out at his residence in Upputhurai Palayam village on the night of 31 December, the I-T department said on Wednesday.
The action came after Ramalingam applied to the petroleum and chemicals ministries for sanction to set up a Rs1,000 crore crude oil refinery in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu.
Ramalingam is in the business of groundnut peeling equipment, and makes frequent trips to countries like Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia. He applied for sanction to set up the refinery in Thondi around a year ago.
The income tax department had kept a close watch on the movement and activities of Ramalingam for the last few months culminating in the raids, officials told the media.
Ramalingam's accounts in various banks are also being checked.
On interrogation Ramalingam reportedly spoke about his dream of starting a Rs40,000-crore oil refinery in Ramanathapuram in southern Tamil Nadu. He had approached real estate brokers to buy 600 acres of land there.
