Nearly a week after the Income Tax Department carried out searches at several locations reportedly linked to actor Rakul Preet Singh, her father-in-law and producer Vashu Bhagnani, and Panorama Studios in Mumbai, Rakul issued a public statement denying any connection to the action.
Calling the reports false and malicious, the actress said the searches were not related to her in any capacity.
Rakul said she comes from an Armed Forces background and entered the film industry without any godfather. She added that she had built her career through hard work and had been paying taxes since the age of 20.
She also denied being involved in any illegal foreign remittances, either personally or on behalf of any production house.
Rakul further stated that she does not hold any benami property for anyone in India or abroad and has never accepted expensive property gifts.
Taking strong exception to the media reports, she urged publications that carried what she described as false and speculative claims to retract them and clarify the facts.
She said commercial pressures in the media should not come at the cost of facts, reputation or livelihood.
The Mumbai Income Tax Department reportedly launched searches at 12 locations on September 28 over suspected financial irregularities. Investigators are said to be examining whether funds were routed abroad under the guise of financing film projects.
Officials are reportedly verifying documents, financial records and details relating to alleged overseas transactions.
Separately, Rakul’s brother Aman Preet Singh had come under the scanner in a drug-related case last year.
In December 2025, the Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement and West Zone police arrested two businessmen for allegedly peddling drugs and seized cocaine and MDMA from them. Aman was reportedly suspected of having purchased drugs from the accused on multiple occasions.
Meanwhile, producer Vashu Bhagnani was reportedly hospitalised in London after two days of Income Tax searches.
On the work front, Rakul Preet Singh was last seen in Pati Patni Aur Woh Do. She is also playing Shurpanakha, the sister of Ravana, in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Yash.