CBI arrests senior IRS officer for accepting bribe of ₹1.25 crore

The anti-corruption wing of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested the assistant commissioner of the central excise department and one more person in Mumbai for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs1.25 crore from a Navi Mumbai hotelier.

The arrested officer, Ashok Nayak, who is a senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, has earlier served in several prime posts in the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Air Intelligence Unit of the Customs. Nayak was currently holding the office of assistant commissioner of service tax, LTU Audit in Mumbai.

According to a CBI official, the complainant, owner of a Navi Mumbai hotel, said he had received a notice in 2016 from ED and was facing an inquiry. The complainant alleged that in April 2017, a person claiming be an ED official called him and asked him to meet Nayak, failing which he would be arrested.

The complainant met Nayak at the central excise department’s office at World Trade Centre in Cuffe Parade and the IRS officer allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs15 crore to settle his case that was pending with the ED.

The CBI said Nayak also asked them to give him 25% of the bribe amount within two days and he would arrest the hotel owner if he failed to give him the first instalment in time.

The complainant filed a formal complaint with the CBI. The investigative agency laid a trap and caught Nayak demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs.1.25 crore.

“During course of investigation the accused informed CBI that he was to deliver that amount to another person. The CBI set up another trap and arrested one Dhananjay Shetty for accepting the tainted money,” added the CBI official.

The CBI also searched Nayak’s residence, where they claimed to have found some incriminating documents. Both the accused were produced before a city court and remanded in CBI custody till