CBI arrests IRS officer, 2 others in alleged ₹1 crore bribe case linked to DHFL probe

CBI arrested three persons, including IRS officer working as deputy director with Serious Fraud Investigation Office in Chennai

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested three persons, including an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer working as deputy director with the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in Chennai, in an alleged ₹1 crore bribery case.

DHFL had come under the scanner of the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in March 2019 over allegedly suspicious transactions in 2018 involving the company and private bank Yes Bank.

The arrests were made after the advocate allegedly received an undue advantage of ₹20 lakh from the complainant as part payment of the demanded bribe of ₹1 crore, for and on behalf of the SFIO officer, CBI officers said on Thursday.

Officers identified the arrested individuals as IRS officer Harish Kumar Tanwar, Delhi-based lawyer B Sharma and Sharma’s relative A Sharma.

The CBI on Tuesday registered a case against Tanwar, the lawyer and unknown public servants / others, based on a complaint submitted by a businessman on Monday, alleging about Tanwar's bribe demand and that he was threatened of arrest and prosecution.

They allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹1 crore from a person who was under an SFIO investigation in connection with an alleged cheating case involving Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL). Tanwar, a 2017-batch IRS officer, was the investigating officer in the case.

After verifying the allegations of a bribe demand and registering the case, the CBI laid a trap and arrested Tanwar, B Sharma and A Sharma.

During searches at the premises of the SFIO officer and the advocate, suspicious material related to the case was recovered, the officers said. The CBI continues to probe the case to ascertain whether others were involved in the alleged irregularities.

The DHFL had earlier come under the CBI and Enforcement Directorate ( ED) 's scanner in 2020, over a few allegedly suspicious transactions in 2018 of the former with a private bank, Yes Bank. The CBI had registered a case in this connection in March 2020.

Between April and June 2018, Yes Bank had invested ₹3,700 crore in short-term debentures of DHFL, according to the CBI.

The bank subsequently also sanctioned a term loan of ₹750 crore to a DHFL group firm and in return, the then Yes Bank MD and CEO Rana Kapoor allegedly received a kick-back of ₹600 crore from the DHFL in the form of loans to his family firm, DOIT Urban Ventures (India) Private Limited. The DHFL loan to DOIT was given allegedly on the basis of the latter’s mortgage of five properties with allegedly meagre value and by considering their conversion from agricultural to residential land, it was alleged.