CBI to get new online system to deal with cases of illegal wealth

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will get a new online system to assist it in probing cases of illegal wealth or black money. It will help officials collect and collate data from various agencies including banks, Income Tax (I-T) department and Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) among others.

The move comes after a multi-disciplinary committee formed by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)—which exercises superintendence over the CBI in investigation of corruption cases, suggested changes in the existing system.

The CVC observed that the present system for calculation of disproportionate assets was formulated several years ago when access to information was limited and the extent of disproportion had to be arrived at using cumbersome procedures and that too manually.

“A need was felt to improve the system for computation of disproportionate assets, including development of a software to capture all the events related to income and expenditure during the check period,” according to an official document.

It was also observed by the CVC that in the present system, data availability with banks, FIU, taxation departments, etc are not being mandatorily obtained and utilised for computation of disproportionate assets. Following which a committee comprising officers from the CVC, the CBI, the FIU and the Department of Personnel and Training—the nodal department for anti-corruption measures, was formed.

The panel has submitted its report which is now with the CBI for its further input before it is eventually accepted, a senior CVC official said. “The new system will be more scientific and help investigators get information of all hidden income using modern tools,” he said.

The cases of disproportionate assets or illegal wealth are booked under Prevention of Corruption Act. A total of 673 corruption cases were registered by the CBI last year involving over 1,300 public servants.