IT Department Recovers Rs 65 Crore From Actor Joseph Vijay’s Financier As 38 Of Their Properties Get Raided

The Income Tax (IT) department recovered about Rs 65 crore on Thursday (6 February) after it raided around 38 properties of Tamil actor Joseph Vijay (popularly called Vijay) and producer Anbu Chezhiyan, news agency ANI tweeted.

“Income Tax Department is conducting raids & surveys at the properties of Tamil actor Vijay and producer Anbu Chezhiyan. Around 38 premises have been covered in the raid and Rs 65 crores have been recovered,” read the tweet,

The agency also tweeted pictures of bags filled with cash recovered from the financier of the actor. The pictures were shared by IT officials.

As per an NDTV report, IT officials claimed that their investigation revealed some unaccounted transactions between Anbu Chezhiyan and Joseph Vijay, which led the department to raid the actors house on East Coast Road outside Chennai. An IT team is also interrogating Vijay today as well.

Earlier on Wednesday, Vijay was also questioned in connection with an alleged tax evasion case linked to AGS Cinemas, which had produced Vijay-starrer hit film ‘Bigil’ last year. The department also searched the residence and business premises of AGS Group promoters.

The IT officials had summoned Vijay from a shooting and questioned him in connection with the payment received by him for film ‘Bigil’ . He was picked up by the IT officials from the sets of his upcoming movie Master, near Neyveli in Tamil Nadu. The incident halted the shooting.

The movie Bigil was shot for a budget of Rs 180 crore and also ended up being one of Vijay’s most successful movies till date. The salary which Vijay received is also said to have come under the IT department’s scrutiny.

Vijay has a long history with Income tax authorities. In 2013, sleuths of the Income Tax (I-T) conducted a raid at a shipping company in Tuticorin owned by the family of actor Vijay.