Where they stash the cash

Storing big money is no big deal for the ingenious Indian. CBI raids have unearthed the stuff in the unlikeliest of places - inside mattresses and quilts, wrapped in newspaper bundles, under bathroom tiles, behind wood-panelled walls, on top of almirahs.... An income-tax raid on a famous film personality some years ago uncovered stacks of cash cemented under the roof.
Many prefer to keep it all in lockers and use it for ''fringe'' activities like night-outs and pleasure trips.However, as any wealth advisor will tell you, unaccounted money is best converted into intangible assets.
How do people lug the stuff around? Down south, whatever the colour of money the preferred colour of the bag is always yellow. However, in the north, cash is normally wrapped in newspapers and carried in cartons in the back of the car. A briefcase is enough to carry Rs 1 crore if it''s in Rs 500 or Rs 1000 notes. Yet, the 50s and 100s still dominate unaccounted cash deals in the country.
For outstation travel, people wrap notes in carbon paper to avoid X-ray detection. At domestic airports, securitymen are more interested in checking for razors, nail-clippers and knives rather than cash. Trains are also preferred - bags at railway stations are not checked. Incidentally, sniffer dogs in India are trained to sniff out drugs but not cash. However, many say, the best option for moving Rs 1 crore from, say, Delhi to Chennai, is the hawala way - walk into an Old Delhi hawala trader''s shop and just pay a commission of Rs 25,000. The money''s there before you can blink.
What do people normally do if they have Rs 1 crore in cash? Buy land in benami, buy diamonds, go for gold or acquire shares in blue chip companies under fictitious names. Black incomes also go into bank and post-office accounts. Then there''s the satta market....
Fast cars? Buying a new Merc may be risky - it requires detailed paperwork - so many acquire their fancy wheels from the secondary market.