The law firm Singh & Associates, which has been on a lateral hiring spree this year, has been raided by the government’s Income Tax Department (ITD) yesterday as part of a raid on its founding partner Manoj K Singh, we can exclusively confirm.
We have reached out to Singh and the firm and two of its spokespersons for comment and will update this story if and when we get anything.
According to the ITD, it had carried out a “search and seizure action… in the case of a leading advocate practicing (sic) in the field of commercial arbitration and alternate dispute resolution”, across 38 properties in Delhi, NCR and Haryana.
The department said that it had recovered Rs 5.5 crore in cash and found “incriminating documents of unaccounted cash transactions and investments” over several years, including “substantial digital data reflecting unaccounted transactions of the assessee and his associates, who are financers and builders”.
The department did not name the advocate, but we understand according to two authoritative sources with knowledge of the raid, that the firm’s managing partner Manoj Kumar Singh was the target.
Besides being the founder of Singh & Associates, Manoj K Singh was only last month elected as chairman of the Delhi bar council’s executive committee, and is part of the bar council’s rules committee, according to a press release on 9 September 2020. (Senior advocate Ramesh Gupta was elected chairman, with Himal Akhtar as vice-chairman of the Delhi bar council at the same time).
Singh & Associates has offices in New Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai and Bengaluru, and according to its website is an “ISO 9001:2015 certified full service law firm” with more than 230 “advocates, chartered accountants, company secretaries, patent agents, trademark agents, engineers, pharma experts, Professionals (BD/Marketing, HR, IT), specialized paralegal staff – representing and assisting clients on litigation, ADR, transactional works, advisory, regulatory, labor & employment, tax, IPR and related matters”.
Manoj K Singh founded the firm in 2002, according to his Linked-in profile, which states that he:
Practices, appears and argues matters in Supreme Court of India and various High Courts in the country including but not limited to New Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Patna Bangalore, Indore, etc. Also appears in the District Courts, including but not limited to Patialla House Courts, Tees Hazari, Dwarka District Court, Kakardooma District Court, Rohini District Court, and various Tribunals including Custom Excise Appellate Tribunal, Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission, Debt Recovery Tribunal, State and National Consumer Redressal Forums etc on the basis of requirement.
He is the Special Counsel for TRANSCO, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), and was previously also empanelled with Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
Department claims 100s of crores in cash payments from clients
According to the department’s release, the targeted advocate – i.e., Singh – was “suspected to be receiving substantial amounts in cash from his clients, to settle their disputes”, and had allegedly “received Rs. 117 crore from a client in cash, whereas he had shown only Rs 117 crore in his records, which was received through cheque”.
“In another case, he received more than Rs. 100 crore in cash from an infrastructure and engineering company for its arbitration proceedings with a public sector company,” added the department.
The tax department alleged in its statement that the “unaccounted cash received, has been invested by the assessee in purchase of residential and commercial properties and in taking over of trusts engaged in running of schools”, adding: “Evidences recovered indicate investment of more than Rs. 100 crore in cash in several properties in posh areas in the last two years. The assessee and his associates have also purchased several schools and properties, for which also more than Rs. 100 crore was paid in cash. He has also taken accommodation entries worth several crores.”
Full tax department statement
Income Tax Department carries out searches in Delhi, NCR and Haryana Posted On: 15 OCT 2020 7:34PM by PIB Delhi The Income Tax Department has carried out a search and seizure action on 14.10.2020 in the case of a leading advocate practicing in the field of commercial arbitration and alternate dispute resolution. He was suspected to be receiving substantial amounts in cash from his clients, to settle their disputes. During the search 38 premises spread over Delhi, NCR and Haryana have been covered.
During the search, cash of Rs. 5.5 crore has been seized, while 10 lockers have been placed under restraint. Incriminating documents of unaccounted cash transactions and investments made by the assessee over several years have been found. Substantial digital data reflecting unaccounted transactions of the assessee and his associates, who are financers and builders, has also been recovered.
In one case, the assessee had received Rs. 117 crore from a client in cash, whereas he had shown only Rs. 21 crore in his records, which was received through cheque. In another case, he received more than Rs. 100 crore in cash from an infrastructure and engineering company for its arbitration proceedings with a public sector company.
The unaccounted cash received, has been invested by the assessee in purchase of residential and commercial properties and in taking over of trusts engaged in running of schools. Evidences recovered indicate investment of more than Rs. 100 crore in cash in several properties in posh areas in the last two years. The assessee and his associates have also purchased several schools and properties, for which also more than Rs. 100 crore was paid in cash. He has also taken accommodation entries worth several crores.
Further investigations are in progress.