I-T official splurged on foreign trips

Income Tax additional commissioner Sumitra Banerjee and her husband Subrato who were arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) splurged huge amounts on foreign trips and a lavish lifestyle, investigations revealed.

The Banerjees were nabbed by the CBI from Mulund for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs1.50 crore from a builder.

CBI teams raided the Banerjees’ plush residence at Chembur on Sunday and recovered cash worth Rs46lakh, and foreign currency worth Rs10 lakh.

Investigations revealed that the couple also own sprawling apartments in Malaysia, Pune, and two other houses in Deonar.

“The couple holds an account in a Singapore-based bank to which we have so far traced Rs2 crore,” said a senior CBI official.

“They have invested heavily in South East Asia,” he added. Apart from this, CBI sleuths have also traced three bank accounts in Mumbai from where they have recovered cash worth Rs35 lakh.

Searches are being conducted on three lockers. “We have recovered jewellery worth Rs50 lakh and fixed deposits worth Rs16 lakh,” said Abhin Modak, superintendent, ACB, CBI.

The couple confessed that Subrato, who works with a private company, was a front for collecting the bribes.