8-9 Lakh Registered Firms Potential Source Of Money Laundering: Government

New Delhi: Nearly nine lakh registered companies in India are not filing annual tax returns with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and are a potential source of money laundering, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said today. Speaking at the Enforcement Day event in New Delhi, Mr Adhia said the task force set up by the Prime Minister's Office is monitoring these companies every 15 days.

"There are 15 lakh registered companies... as many as 8-9 lakh are not filing annual returns with the corporate affairs ministry. They have become a potential threat for money laundering," he said.

He also said that if companies do not file returns after getting registered with the MCA, then these are used as potential source of money laundering. "We have given notices to some of them," he said, adding that the task force co-chaired by him and the MCA Secretary is keeping a close watch on them.

According to Mr Adhia, trade-based money laundering is also getting prominent these days as was witnessed in the Rs 6,000-crore Bank of Baroda case.

In a major crackdown on domestic shell companies, the government in February decided to take "harsh punitive" action, including freezing of their bank accounts used to launder money or evade taxes.