More than 900 benami properties including flats, shops, jewellery, fixed deposits and vehicles worth over Rs 3,500 crore have been attached by the IT (Income Tax) Department, reported PTI. The department made this statement today.

The action was taken under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act of 2016 which provides for provisional attachment and subsequent confiscation of movable and immovable benami properties.

The act allows prosecution of the beneficial owner (benamidar) and the abettor to benami transactions. It may result in 7 years imprisonment and a fine of up to 25 % of the fair market value of the property.

Under its Investigation Directorates, the IT department had set up 24 dedicated Benami Prohibition Units (BPUs) all over India in May 2017.

According to the act, a benami transaction is one where a property, that is either movable or immovable is under the name of a person but it has been provided for or paid by a different person.