Days after the income tax searched the premises of BMC’s standing committee chairman and his associates and contractors, the Centre’s media arm PIB brought out a release on Thursday claiming that the I-T has recovered the evidence of a prominent person’s involvement in international hawala transactions. It said the evidence also indicates “a close nexus between BMC contractors and the prominent person”.

On February 25, the taxmen began searching 35 premises, including the Mazgaon home and offices of standing committee chairman Yashwant Jadhav. As per the PIB, the I-T has recovered undisclosed cash of Rs 2 crore and jewellery worth Rs 1.5 crore apart from documents pertaining to immovable properties worth Rs 130 crore from the “prominent person”.