Chennai, Jan 4 (IANS) Income Tax (IT) Department officials here Friday questioned businessman T.M. Ramalingam for possessing $5 billion worth of US bonds seized during a raid at his residence Dec 31, officials said.
Ramalingam said the bonds, which are worth over Rs.28,000 crore, are in his name and are current.
Contrary to his earlier stance that his bad health would not enable him to travel to Chennai from Tirupur district, Ramalingam presented himself at the IT office here Friday morning. He was accompanied by his lawyers.
However, IT officials kept Ramalingam’s lawyers out while questioning him.
Ramalingam said the IT officials may have come to his house regarding his application to set up a petroleum refinery in Thondi in Ramanathapuram district in Tamil Nadu at a cost of Rs.1,000 crore or his recent purchase of a new car.
A government official told IANS that they did not know about Ramalingam’s proposed petroleum refinery project.
Thondi is an ancient port city around 500 km from Chennai.
Ramalingam has formed a company called Bharaneedharan Oil Refinery for the refinery project.
The IT department is trying to verify the genuineness of the seized bonds.
