MS Bali corruption goes back 10 years

MS Bali, the chief postmaster general of Maharashtra arrested on bribery charges, has been a corrupt person for the past 10 years.
Bali, who has held senior positions across the country, demanded a ‘commission’ for almost anything that needed his permission, according to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The agency is investigating how Bali amassed so much wealth. 
Bali was arrested in February on charges of demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs2 crore to issue a no objection certificate to a private builder.

In the past decade, the postal department has outsourced many of its work. Bali, a CBI officer said, probably took a ‘cut’ to award the contracts. He was in charge of the engineering and marketing departments in Gwalior, Delhi, and Goa. The CBI is interrogating him to find details of such transactions.

“He was a traditional investor, putting his money only in safe sectors such as fixed deposits, bonds, and the real estate,” the officer said. “He was never under suspicion because he did not lead a flamboyant lifestyle.”

The CBI traced Rs63 lakh in cash and other investments worth Rs40 lakh from eight bank accounts of Bali. The Anti-Corruption Bureau of the CBI has frozen 22 bank accounts of Bali.

The CBI had seized Rs34 lakh in foreign currency and eight laptops during a raid at his Colaba home.