The Income Tax department has begun sealing properties and issued prohibitory orders around the premises of former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda and his associates in the alleged hawala transactions and illegal investments case.<br/> The sealing exercise is done as the owners of these properties are not available at certain places. The department has also seized some cash as it is continuing its searches, which began on Saturday, on more than 70 premises across the country.<br/> It will soon issue notices for production of documents and accounts along with the individual's presence in the case. <br/> The IT department had claimed that they have found evidence of 2,000 crore rupees in hawala transaction and illegal investments after searches were conducted at Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Lucknow, Nasik, Ranchi, Chaibasa and Jamshedpur.<br/> The searches were conducted after the Enforcement Directorate registered a case against Koda and his associates Sanjay Choudhary and Vinod Kumar Sinha on the 9th of last month on charges of making huge illegal investments abroad.