RANCHI: In a major relief to suspended IAS officer Vinay Chaubey, an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court has granted him bail in a disproportionate assets case. Chaubey was granted relief as the chargesheet was not filed within the stipulated time.
The court accepted his plea seeking default bail. The ACB had taken him into judicial custody on January 28. The investigating agency was required to file the chargesheet by March 29, but failed to do so.
The ACB had registered FIR against IAS officer Vinay Chaubey and seven other accused persons, including his relatives and close associate, Vinay Singh. The FIR alleges large-scale corruption, fraudulent transactions and amassing disproportionate assets through family members and associates.
Besides Vinay Chaubey, his wife Swapna Sanchita, Vinay Singh, a trusted friend and investor in illegal assets, and his wife Snigdha Singh have been named as accused in the FIR. Vinay Chaubey's brother-in-law, Shipij Trivedi, his wife, Priyanka Trivedi and Chaubey's father-in-law, SN Trivedi, have also been named in the FIR as accused persons.
The ACB investigation had revealed that Vinay Chaubey has income and assets that exceed his known sources of income. He has earned Rs 2.20 crore through his current employment. However, the investigation revealed that Rs 3.47 crore were deposited into his accounts and in the accounts belonging to his relatives and associates, controlled by him.
This reflected approximately Rs 1.27 crore of unexplained assets, nearly 53 per cent higher than his legal income. According to ACB, Vinay Chaubey systematically used the accounts of his wife, brother-in-law, father-in-law, friend and friend's wife to create a network. These funds were routed through cash deposits, RTGS transfers, loan payments, real estate registrations and private company transactions to mask their origins.
Investigators also revealed that Vinay Singh played the role of a “receiver and operator” of the illegal proceeds, with numerous suspicious transactions found in his accounts. His wife was also allegedly a key participant in the money laundering network.
The ACB, investigating Vinay Choubey's corruption, had also found that he committed financial irregularities wherever he had been posted. While serving as Deputy Commissioner in Hazaribagh, he committed a land scam, and while in Ranchi, he was engaged in a liquor scam. The ACB has received information about scams from every position he held, which is under investigation.