CBI arrests EPFO officer for demanding bribe of Rs 15 lakh from beneficiary

Arrested officer P Kabilan in Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, had allegedly come to know that the company received Rs 3 crore from the Centre under a scheme

The CBI arrested an enforcement officer of the EPFO on Monday while allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 2 lakh from a software company which had received funds of more than Rs 3 crore under the central government's Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana, officials said.

Arrested officer P Kabilan in Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, had allegedly come to know that the company received Rs 3 crore from the Centre under the scheme to boost creations of new jobs in formal sector through the support of EPF contributions for new employees, they said.

Kabilan allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 15 lakh, five per cent of the total funds, from the owner of the software company for not taking action against it.

"It has been further alleged that the accused officer collected and verified the documents from the complainant company and learnt that the company had received an amount of Rs 3 crore (approx) under the central government's Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana (ABRY) scheme. Out of the said amount, he allegedly demanded five per cent as bribe from the complainant," CBI spokesperson said.

After verifying the allegations, CBI teams reached the bribe exchange location where the officer was allegedly caught red-handed while receiving a part payment of Rs 2 lakh of the total bribe, he said.