India | Tax Official and Chartered Accountant Sentenced to 3 Years in 14-Year-Old Bribery Case | CUAC

Civil Union – Follow-up A special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Bengaluru has convicted an income tax official and a chartered accountant in a bribery case dating back to 2012, sentencing both to three years in prison. The court convicted income tax official V. Nagaraj and chartered accountant Naginchand V. Kincha after finding them guilty of demanding and accepting a bribe from a taxpayer in exchange for reducing his tax liability. The case dates back to August 2012, when A.K. Halim reported to the CBI that Nagaraj had demanded a bribe in exchange for reducing the amount of tax he owed. According to the case, the official had assessed the tax liability at around 8 million rupees (80 lakh) and offered to reduce it to approximately 3 million rupees (30 lakh) in exchange for a 2 million-rupee (20 lakh) bribe. In September 2012, Nagaraj instructed Halim to hand over the bribe to accountant Kincha. The CBI subsequently conducted a trap operation, recovering 500,000 rupees (5 lakh) of the bribe money from Kincha’s office and arresting the accused. The court delivered its conviction and sentencing after approximately 14 years had passed since the case was registered. Source: The Indian Express