Rakul Preet Singh has issued her first public response to reports of Income Tax searches in Mumbai, rejecting what she calls unverified coverage and denying any involvement in illegal foreign remittances.
The searches
On September 28, the Mumbai Income Tax Department carried out searches at around 12 locations, according to reports. Those locations were said to be connected to Rakul Preet Singh, producer Vashu Bhagnani, and Panorama Studios, the banner associated with producer Kumar Mangat Pathak. The action is part of a wider inquiry into suspected film-financing irregularities and overseas transactions.
Officials are reported to be examining documents, bank records and transfers made abroad. The stated focus is money remitted under heads such as shooting expenses, production costs and overseas distribution. No official amount, formal finding or charge has been made public so far.
Rakul Preet Singh’s denial
In a statement, the actor said the search was not about her. “The search was not pertaining to me,” she said, adding that she has paid taxes since the age of 20 and that she is not involved in any illegal foreign remittance, personally or on behalf of any production house.
She also addressed speculation over undisclosed assets:
- She says she holds no benami property — property held in one name for another’s benefit — in India or abroad.
- She says no one has gifted her any property.
- She says she does not accept expensive gifts, as a matter of principle.
Rakul said she comes from an Armed Forces background and entered the film industry without a godfather, presenting herself as a responsible, law-abiding citizen. She asked publications and individuals that carried what she called false, malicious and speculative reports to retract them and clarify the facts.
Why the statement matters
Tax searches are not convictions. A search by an investigative agency does not by itself establish wrongdoing, and that distinction has often been lost in fast-moving entertainment coverage. Rakul Preet Singh’s response is a deliberate effort to put the public record straight before the investigation produces any formal conclusion.
For Hindi cinema, the searches put fresh attention on how film financing and overseas remittance structures are examined. The case involves producers and a working actor, which gives it wider industry resonance. Her demand for retractions also signals a shift: a public figure contesting coverage in real time rather than waiting for official findings.
Source: bollywoodHungama.com
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