New Delhi: With investigative agencies expanding their probe in the Rs 13,600 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, customers who bought jewellery from billionaire diamantaire Nirav Modi’s stores using cash are under the Income Tax Department soon after getting a green signal from the Central Board of Direct Taxes to launch a country-wide probe related to cash purchase starting the financial years starting 2015, reported The Economic Times.

The investigation will be in accordance to a confidential document – prepared by I-T department after investigation – of about 90 pages, which shows the total amount of gems, diamonds, and jewellery purchased by individuals and also the mode of transaction. The report suggested that the list runs into 40 pages, in case of transactions made in 2015-16 and about 10 pages more for 2016-17.

It should be noted that the data has now been circulated to various regional departments and relevant investigative wings, which are located across various states, suggested CBDT sources. According to the ET report, quoting a senior I-T official, the Delhi Income Tax office last week received a list of 55 such individuals or entities from Mumbai.

The list has been divided into three separate categories.Those who had bought jewellery over Rs 5 crore or above from Nirav Modi stores feature in the first category and are most likely to be investigated. The report suggested that Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi’s wife Anita finds a place in the first-category list; she was issued a notice at least two months ago, suggested the ET report.

However, since receiving the notice, the issue has been challenged by Singhvi’s wife. The second category is for people who may have made cash purchases between Rs 1 crore and Rs 5 crore; the last slab is for the lot who have purchased diamonds and other precious jewels below Rs 1 crore. While the names have not been disclosed by the I-T department, it is a significant crackdown on several people who had earlier made cash purchases from outlets of Nirav Modi.

However, the list is most likely to feature names of prominent businesspersons, which includes one from South Delhi who is suspected to have made large cash purchases from Nirav Modi’s stores. As part of the scrutiny, the tax department is expected to investigate I-T returns filed by those who feature in the list for the last two years. Nirav Modi, his family and business partner Mehul Choksi had fled the county earlier this year, days before the massive Rs 13,600 crore PNB scam came in the spotlight. The scam at the heart of India’s second-largest public lender came as a jolt to the government, which made norms stricter for lenders to prevent such instances in future.