CBI Registers Disproportionate Assets Case Against Former EPFO Officer
Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a disproportionate assets case (DPA) against a former accounts officer of an employee provident fund organisation (EPFO) after a probe revealed that the accused public servant had amassed assets amounting to Rs 39.69 lakh, which are disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The investigation was initiated following a written complaint received on February 16, 2024, from the vigilance department against the then accounts officer of the EPFO Regional Office in Akurdi, Pune. According to a CBI official, the complaint alleged that during an internal investigation against the accused officer, certain suspicious transactions were discovered in his wife’s bank account. The explanations provided by the officer regarding the funds received in his wife’s account raised red flags.
The probe revealed that between January 2014 and December 2021, the officer acquired assets in both his and his wife’s name that exceeded their known income sources. Currently, the officer is posted at the EPFO regional office in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, and faces charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
This is not the first instance of questionable conduct involving the officer; in August, he was investigated for allegedly attempting to bribe the investigating officer of the zonal vigilance directorate, West Zone, Mumbai. The accused reportedly attempted to secure a favorable outcome in an internal investigation by planting Rs 1 lakh in a sweet box for the officer.
