CBI Recovers Rs 1 Crore Cash, 3.5 Kg Gold In Bribery Case Against Senior IRS Officer

Last Updated:June 02, 2025, 21:47 IST

Singhal, who was then posted as the joint commissioner of the Customs Department, Mumbai, approached Kapoor and entered into a master franchise contract with La Pino'z Pizza.

Cash and gold recovered from the IRS' premises (Credits: IANS)

The Central Bureau of Investigation recovered around Rs 1 crore in cash and 3.5 kg of gold after conducting raids at the premises of senior IRS officer Amit Kumar Singal. The officer has been arrested along with one of his associates in link to bribery charges involving Rs 25 lakh.

Raids were conducted by the central agency at the premises of the officer and his associate Harsh Kotak, following a trap operation.

CBI seized Rs 1 crore in cash, along with 3.5 kg of gold and 2 kg of silver during searches at Singal’s premises in Delhi and Punjab, reported PTI, citing officials.

Singhal, who is a 2007-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer and was posted as the additional director general at the Directorate of Taxpayer Services in Delhi, was arrested for allegedly taking Rs 25 lakh as a bribe from a pizza-chain owner.

According to the FIR filed by the CBI, the officer demanded a total bribe amount of Rs 45 lakh to settle an income-tax notice issued to Sanam Kapoor, owner of La Pino’z Pizza.

On Saturday, Rs 25 lakh was delivered to his home in Punjab’s Mohali as the first installment of the bribe. The money was allegedly received by Kotak on behalf of the IRS officer.

The CBI arrested Singhal on the same day following the complaint by Kapoor.

Both Singhal and Kotak were produced before a special magistrate in Chandigarh, who remanded them in judicial custody till June 13, reported PTI, citing Kapoor’s lawyer, Gagandeep Jammu.

How Did The Incident Unfold?

According to the complaint filed by Kapoor, Singhal, who was then posted as the joint commissioner of the Customs Department, Mumbai, approached Kapoor and entered into a master franchise contract with La Pino’z Pizza through Parker Impex, a partnership firm in the name of his mother, Ranjna, and Amit Rattan.

It was allegedly followed by other agreements regarding a franchise deal for two outlets and a store with Flevaco (a partnership firm of Harsh Kotak and his mother, Godavariben Amulakhbhai Kotak) and an agreement for an outlet with Mohini Hospitality, in which Kotak’s wife, Kiran, was the proprietor, said the FIR.

Later, Kotak allegedly replaced Rattan in Parker Impex.

Later, after a business fallout due to “unprofessional conduct and material violations", Kapoor was allegedly forced to buy back three outlets at six times their value, Jammu said.

“After termination of master franchise contracts with Parker Impex and its associate firms in the month of December 2024, Singal, using his influence, got income tax notice … issued to me by Income Tax department on February 18, 2025," Kapoor has alleged in the complaint to the CBI that is now part of the FIR.

Kapoor’s CA then visited the income tax office at Chandigarh as directed in the notice. Kapoor, on his return, was told that he might have to face a hefty penalty, and the notice has been issued due to the influence exhorted by Singal.

Kapoor then met Singal at his Delhi office in April, where the officer allegedly demanded Rs 45 lakh as a bribe to settle the notice.

Following the complaint, CBI acted promptly and laid a trap to arrest Singal, who was arrested from his residence in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj on Saturday.

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