New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a Deputy Director of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and two private individuals in an alleged Rs 1 crore bribery case linked to the investigation into financial irregularities at Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL).
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The arrested officer, Harish Kumar Tanwar, is a 2017-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer from the Income Tax cadre, currently posted at SFIO's Chennai office. He was serving as the investigating officer in the DHFL case.
The other accused have been identified as Delhi-based advocate Bharat Sharma and his relative Aryan Sharma.
The case was registered following a complaint filed by Gopal Shivram Dalvi on October 12, alleging that Tanwar, Sharma and others demanded Rs 1 crore to spare him from arrest and prosecution in the ongoing DHFL investigation.
According to the CBI, verification conducted on October 12 and 13 in the presence of independent witnesses established an alleged bribery demand involving Tanwar and Sharma.
During the verification, Sharma allegedly instructed the complainant to deliver Rs 20 lakh on October 13 as an initial instalment of the demanded amount. He purportedly agreed to collect the money on Tanwar's behalf.
The CBI subsequently laid a trap and arrested the three accused after Sharma allegedly accepted Rs 20 lakh from the complainant.
Searches at premises linked to Tanwar and Sharma also led to the recovery of material considered relevant to the investigation.
The investigation has widened, with another senior IRS officer posted at SFIO coming under scrutiny over his supervisory role in the DHFL probe.
Sources said the officer, also from the Income Tax cadre, was questioned by the CBI regarding the alleged bribery demand involving Tanwar and the other accused.
The process for repatriating the senior officer to his parent cadre has also been initiated, sources added.
However, the questioning does not by itself establish the officer's involvement in the alleged conspiracy.
The CBI has invoked Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), dealing with criminal conspiracy, along with Sections 7 and 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018.
The provisions concern bribery involving public servants and the acceptance of undue advantage to influence official decisions through corrupt or illegal means.
The investigation has been assigned to Inspector Shakti Kumar of the CBI's Anti-Corruption Branch-III in New Delhi.
The bribery allegations have emerged from one of India's major corporate fraud investigations involving DHFL and its promoters.
The housing finance company has faced investigations by the CBI, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and SFIO over allegations of financial misconduct, money laundering and diversion of bank funds.
In November 2019, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs ordered an SFIO investigation following an examination of the company's affairs through the Registrar of Companies.
Investigators have examined allegations that DHFL diverted substantial bank borrowings through a network of shell companies and related entities. The company and its promoters have faced multiple proceedings involving alleged irregularities exceeding Rs 34,000 crore.
As part of its investigation, SFIO also examined DHFL promoters Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan after obtaining permission from a Mumbai court.
The latest arrests have brought the conduct of officials investigating major corporate fraud cases under scrutiny.
SFIO, which functions under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, is empowered to investigate serious corporate offences and exercise statutory arrest powers in specified circumstances.
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The allegation that an investigating officer sought Rs 1 crore by threatening arrest and prosecution raises serious concerns about the potential misuse of these powers for personal gain.
The CBI is now examining whether the alleged bribery arrangement was confined to the three arrested accused or involved other public servants.
The investigation remains ongoing, and the allegations against the accused are yet to be established in court.