HYDERABAD: The income-tax department has begun raids on realty major Phoenix on Tuesday morning. A special team from Mumbai was flown into city to carry out raids which are said to be in continuation of recent similar raids on two other realty majors Vasavi group and Sumadhura.
Top sources told Deccan Chronicle that the raids were being conducted particularly with regard to a financial transaction between Phoenix and the two companies over sale of land in Kukatpally.
The group also gained notoriety for owning prime lands which were earlier claimed by the State government or its agencies. The company was owned by Chukkapally Suresh who is currently the chairman emeritus while the show is run by the present chairman and managing director Gopi.
Gulf Oil owned IDL in Kukatpally applied for change of land use from industry to commercial way back when Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy was Chief Minister. However, the file started moving sometime thanks to the intervention of Phoenix which bought from IDL. The company again sold to Vasavi-Sumadhura JV at a higher price than its purchase price.
The I-T officials also got crucial inputs on Phoenix’s purchase of material used in construction and the department would do a thorough check to ascertain the genuineness of these transactions.
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