Sources in the income tax department said they questioned two acting executives
of Axis Mutual Fund in connection with the so-called front-running case
Sources in the income tax department said they questioned two acting executives
of Axis Mutual Fund in connection with the alleged front-running case. 12 fund
managers are on the IT department's radar. Two of them are being questioned over
front-running and alleged tax evasion, the sources said. Axis AMC's head of
equities Jinesh Gopani and Axis AMC trader Pawan Jhangiani were also reportedly
questioned by I-T officials. On July 28, the IT department raided the residence
of its former chief trader and fund manager of Axis Mutual Fund, Viresh Joshi.
Joshi has been on the radar of the IT department since May after discovering that the latter owns a Lamborghini and luxury apartments in Mumbai.
Allegedly, Josh got all of this by getting ahead.
The IT department recorded testimony from Josh and several other brokers. The department collected information from SEBI before conducting the raid.
Josh is accused of taking bribes from brokers instead of sharing tips from mutual funds. He allegedly received financial benefits from his agent after indulging in the practice. The broker allegedly paid him monthly. Josh reportedly invested in mutual funds, buying a lot of mid-cap and small-cap stocks to help brokers and himself.
The IT department convened an elite team of officials in May to investigate the so-called Axis Mutual Fund front-running scam.
Since then, about a dozen fund managers, including Joshi, have been on the radar of the IT department.
The Income Tax Office was surprised when the accused defendants did not provide information about their property in later disclosed tax returns.
The IT department found in a preliminary investigation that the fund managers had some commercial and non-commercial assets, which they allegedly hid in their tax returns. They even show that they are not earning any income from their real estate.
The department was told that the fund managers were earning rent from their untaxed properties.
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