RANCHI: After nearly six hours of interrogation, the State Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday arrested IAS officer Vinay Kumar Chaubey in connection with the alleged liquor scam in Jharkhand.
A team of ACB officials brought Chaubey from his Ranchi residence to the ACB headquarters around 11 am for questioning. He was arrested later the same day from the headquarters.
According to sources, the ACB has accused Chaubey of colluding with a Chhattisgarh-based liquor syndicate to influence the formulation of a new liquor policy in Jharkhand, which allegedly caused significant financial losses to the state. The policy was implemented on March 31, 2022, during Chaubey's tenure as Secretary of the Excise Department.
In the related Chhattisgarh liquor scam, it is alleged that a Raipur-based syndicate supplied liquor using fake holograms, resulting in a scam worth crores of rupees. Several individuals, including former IAS officers Anil Tuteja and A.P. Tripathi, and businessman Anwar Dhebar, have been named as accused.
The alleged scam extended to Jharkhand between 2019 and 2022. Vinay Chaubey was named as an accused alongside Chhattisgarh officials. The case was initially registered by the Chhattisgarh Economic Offences Wing based on a complaint from Vikas Singh, a resident of the Argora police station area in Ranchi. Singh had accused several Chhattisgarh officials of causing revenue losses worth billions of rupees through the scam.
Following FIR No. 36/2024 filed by the Chhattisgarh Economic Offences Wing, the ACB in Ranchi launched a preliminary investigation. During this inquiry, Chaubey and Joint Commissioner Gajendra Singh were questioned multiple times. Based on the findings, and with government approval, the ACB registered a formal FIR.
In March 2025, after completing its investigation, the Chhattisgarh Economic Offences Wing wrote to the Jharkhand government seeking sanction to prosecute Chaubey and Singh. The state government consulted Senior Supreme Court Advocate S. Nagamuthu and informed him about the ongoing probe in Jharkhand.
Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had raided the premises of both Chaubey and Singh in connection with the alleged scam. During these raids, iPhones and other documents were seized.
The ED's investigation revealed that officials from the excise department had colluded with liquor traders to form a syndicate, resulting in significant financial losses to the Chhattisgarh government. It also found that the same syndicate played a role in shaping Jharkhand’s new excise policy, which allegedly enabled similar fraudulent practices in the state.