IT department to check PAN card details in Koda case

NEW DELHI: The Income Tax department, investigating allegations of hawala transactions and investments by former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, is verifying details of PAN cards found during searches in connection with the probe.

The department, sources said, has seized a number of PAN cards during its nationwide searches and there is a possibility of one individual using different PAN cards at the same time.

"The income earned through various sources by an individual can be traced through a Permanent Account Number (PAN). There is a possibility that Koda's associates may have had different cards to hide the exact income," sources said.

A number of PAN cards have been seized in Mumbai and Kolkata and information related to their issuance and records is being obtained, sources said.

The department will take the help of its various offices to check PAN card details and various monetary transactions undertaken through them, sources said.

Koda and his associates, including Binod Sinha and Sanjay Chowdhary, have been accused by the IT department and the Enforcement Directorate of having floated fictitious accounts and companies to route and invest money through hawala channels.