ED attaches assets worth Rs 79.70 Lakh of ex-IT officer

BENGALURU: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has issued a Provisional Attachment Order (PAO) attaching assets worth Rs 79.70 lakh of the then Income Tax officer (ITO) Karnataka Abhishek Tripathi and his family members under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the ED stated. 

“The investigation has revealed that between December 29, 2008 and April 28, 2016, Tripathi had misused his official position to enter into a number of suspicious transactions. He had acquired huge movable and immovable properties in his name and in the name of his family members, which are disproportionate to his known sources of Income,” the ED stated. The assets include three immovable properties at Lakhimpur Kheri and Lucknow district in Uttar Pradesh and bank balance. 

The ED had taken up investigation against the ITO and his family members on the basis of a chargesheet filed by the CBI, Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Bengaluru in 2016 (RC12(A)/2016) against Tripathi and his family members for acquiring assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.