CBI seizes gold, silver, cash & assets worth crores in bribery case

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has found a huge amount of amount of amount of illicit asset, including about 3.5 kg o of of gold, 2 kg of of of silver, and Rs 1 crore in in in cash, in an ongoing probe into a bribery case related to a senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer.

The accused, a 2007-batch IRS officer presently working as the Additional Director General of the Directorate of Taxpayer Services in New Delhi, was apprehended along with a private person for demanding a bribe of Rs 45 lakhs in return for favourable treatment from the Revenue/Income Tax Department. The officer threatened the complainant with legal proceedings, heavy fines, and harassment if he did not pay the bribe.

The CBI carried out massive searches from various places, seizing significant assets such as the gold and silver worth around Rs 3.5 crore. Registration documents of ownership of a locker, 25 bank accounts, and immovable assets in Delhi, Mumbai, and Punjab were also confiscated. The value of the movable and immovable assets seized is still being estimated.

The bribery scandal was unearthed after the CBI set a trap and caught the private individual red-handed while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 25 lakhs on behalf of the IRS officer at the residence of the officer in Mohali. The senior officer was arrested from his house in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, after the arrest.

The two accused were produced in front of a designated court on June 1, 2025, and were remanded to judicial custody for 14 days. The investigation is still under way, and the CBI has indicated that more information will come to light as the inquiry continues.

The very high-profile nature of this case has raised serious concerns regarding corruption in India's revenue service and the increasing need for enhanced accountability and transparency in public institutions.