CBI arrests SEBI official for taking Rs25-lakh bribe  

February 1, 2010

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an official of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for demanding and taking a bribe of Rs25 lakh from a Kolkata-based businessman.

SEBI's assistant general manager Rajesh Pratap Singh had asked Gautam Kundu, chairman, Rose Valley Group of Companies, to furnish some documents and other particulars of the business being transacted by one of its companies as a corporate agent of LIC and GIC. RP Singh also allegedly asked for a bribe of Rs25 lakh from Mr Kundu for not pursuing the matter.

CBI's head for the anti-corruption unit Samir Ranjan Muzumdar led a team to make the arrest on Sunday evening at a restaurant in Alipore area of South Kolkata.

According to media reports, cash worth Rs28 lakh and other documents showing huge investments in movable and immovable property were recovered from the residence of RP Singh.

On Monday, Mr Singh was produced before the Special Judge at Alipore in Kolkata. He was remanded to judicial custody until 12^th February.

“The arrested official (RP Singh) has been put on suspension with immediate effect,” an official from SEBI said. According to our sources, SEBI chairman CB Bhave has sent out an email expressing concerns over the bribe-taking incident.
— Moneylife Digital Team