The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday arrested a Superintendent of Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), Mumbai, for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from a private company in exchange for reducing its tax liability.
The accused official, Ankit Aggarwal, was serving as Superintendent in charge of audit functions. The CBI registered the case following a written complaint filed by the director of a private company, who alleged that the officer had demanded illegal gratification to "settle" audit-related issues.
According to the complaint, Aggarwal had conducted an audit of the company on November 26 and subsequently threatened to raise a fabricated tax demand of ₹98 lakh. The officer allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 20 lakh to reduce or avoid the proposed tax liability.
After negotiations, the accused reportedly agreed to accept Rs 17 lakh as illegal gratification. Acting on the complaint, the CBI laid a trap and caught the CGST Superintendent red-handed while accepting Rs 5 lakh, which was stated to be part payment of the bribe amount.
Following the arrest, the CBI carried out searches at the residence of the accused in Mumbai. During the search operations, officials recovered unaccounted and unexplained cash amounting to Rs 18.3 lakh. The agency also found documents relating to the purchase of two immovable properties, including one property valued at Rs 40.3 lakh purchased in April 2025 and another worth Rs 32.1 lakh purchased in June 2024.
Searches were also conducted at the official office premises of the accused public servant. During the operation, the CBI seized digital evidence and records related to the audit report being prepared by the accused for the complainant's company.
CBI officials stated that further investigation is underway to examine the source of the recovered assets and to ascertain whether other officials or entities were involved in the alleged corruption case.
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