Kriti Agrawal
On Tuesday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Srinivasa Bollineni Gandhi in a case involving disproportionate assets.
According to the CBI official, the case was previously filed against Gandhi, as well as others such as Chiluka Sudha Rani and Satya Sridhar Reddy, for allegedly requesting 5 crores in GST input credit.
From 2004 to 2017, the accused was a close aide to former AP chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and one of the longest serving officials in the Enforcement Directorate (ED). There have also been several charges levelled against him in the past.
According to CBI sources, Gandhi was arrested because he refused to cooperate with the investigation. Gandhi had declined to cooperate despite multiple notices from the investigative agency.
Gandhi previously worked for the ED for over seven years, handling high-profile money laundering cases.
Gandhi is also being investigated by the CBI in another scandal. In a Rs 5 crore bribery scandal, he and suspended GST deputy commissioner (services tax anti-evasion) Chilaka Sudha Rani were identified as accused.
In July 2019, the CBI searched Gandhi’s properties in Hyderabad and Vijayawada and discovered assets worth Rs 4 crore.
Satya Sridhar Reddy Jagan Nagari, the director of Bharani Commodities Private Ltd, an accused in the GST tax evasion case, was also booked by CBI in the FIR issued on September 11, 2019.
In March 2019, Gandhi and Sudha Rani led an investigation that discovered a Rs 1,289 crore fraudulent invoice scam and a Rs 224 crore illegal input tax credit involving eight companies connected to Sridhar Reddy and others.
Two officials were later charged with seeking a bribe of Rs 5 crore from Bharani Commodities.
On April 15, 2019, the duo approved a cash advance of Rs 10 lakh. Sridhar Reddy reportedly charged officials Rs 10 lakh to avoid the arrest of his wife in the case.
Gandhi served in the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence from 2002 to 2012, and then in ED from 2012 to 2019.
He was later promoted to superintendent in the GST Commissionerate and, on an ad hoc basis, to assistant commissioner. However, after the Disproportionate Asset (DA) case was filed, he was removed from the GST wing.
