The Income Tax Department has attached "benami" assets worth Rs 1,600 crore belonging to VK Sasikala, an aide to former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, officials said on Tuesday.
Nine properties, located in Chennai, Puducherry and Coimbatore, were procured soon after demonetisation in November 2016 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that the two high-value notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 are not legal tenders, they said.
Sources said these alleged 'benami' assets were purchased by VK Sasikala by using about Rs 1,500 crore of demonetised notes and the assets were taken under fictitious identities.
The officials said a provisional order of attachment against VK Sasikala, lodged in a jail in Bengaluru after being convicted in a disproportionate assets case, has been issued under section 24(3) of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988.
The law was lying inoperative and was enforced from November 2016 by the Modi government.
The officials said payments for purchasing these assets were made in "cash" and "MoUs" were signed between the executing parties.
The tax department had conducted massive raids against Sasikala and a few others in 2017 and it is understood that the documents about these assets were recovered then.
She has been questioned by tax officials in connection with this case in the past.
Sasikala, who took over the reins of the AIADMK after the death of Jayalalithaa in December 2016, was later removed from the party by the Chief Minister K Palaniswami-led camp.
Is Your Income Tax Return Delayed? Here's What You Should Do DMK vs Opposition As Two More Political Workers From Tamil Nadu Killed ITR Filing 2024 Deadline: Penalty For Missing The Income Tax Return Filing 2 French Rafale Jets Collide Mid-Air, Instructor, Pilot Missing Ayatollah Khamenei Warns Of "Divine Wrath" If Iran Backs Down Against Israel Mob Vandalised Kolkata Doctor Rape Murder Case Crime Scene? Cops Respond Huge Participation At Independence Day Celebrations By Army's Spear Corps Akasa Air Flight Makes Emergency Landing In Bhopal For Sick Passenger Musk Has A Favourite Interview Question That Experts Say Can Catch Liars Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.