CBI Probes Hawala Operators Linked To Bribery Case Involving Hyderabad Income Tax Commissioner

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which had arrested five persons, including a Commissioner of Income Tax from Hyderabad and four others, in a bribery case, is now investigating hawala operators allegedly linked to the accused. In two instances, a total bribe amount of Rs35 lakh was collected by middlemen and routed through the bank accounts of one of the accused and via hawala channels, agency officials said.

The CBI registered a case on Friday against Commissioner of Income Tax Jeevan Lal Lavidiya and others for corruption. The agency arrested a middleman in Mumbai while accepting a Rs70 lakh bribe on behalf of Lavidiya. Following this, Lavidiya and his associates were arrested in Hyderabad. The agency conducted searches at 18 locations across Mumbai, Hyderabad, Khammam, Visakhapatnam, and New Delhi, recovering incriminating documents and cash Rs69 lakh.

According to the CBI, while dealing with the appeals of Ventura Securities Ltd, Thane and Anandrao Shitole, Mumbai, Lavidiya had obtained Rs20 lakh and Rs15 lakh respectively as bribe. The bribe amounts were collected by the middlemen and were routed through the bank accounts of a Vishakapatnam based accused through hawala channels.