“Earned 119 times more than his last salary”: Investigation agency on former bureaucrat

Ramesh Abhishek is facing multiple cases by various agencies.

New Delhi:

A Bihar cadre IAS officer received crores of rupees after retirement as consultancy fees from more than a dozen companies with whom he had official dealings while in service. The man is facing a multi-agency investigation involving the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI.

The CBI on Tuesday searched the premises of former Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) secretary Ramesh Abhishek after registering an FIR against him on charges of amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. The FIR lodged by the CBI said, “When he was the Secretary DPIIT or Chairman of the Forward Market Commission, he was collecting huge sums of money as consultancy and professional fees from various institutions and organizations with whom he had dealings. “

According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mr Abhishek filed an affidavit before the Lokpal in which he mentioned that in the 15 months after retirement, he received a fee of Rs 2.7 crore, which was “119 times more than his last drawn government salary”. , which was Rs 2.26. Lakhs.

A senior CBI official says, “The investigation so far by various agencies has revealed that while holding the post of Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, he benefited at least 16 companies.”

The FIR further states that the house in the posh Greater Kailash area of ​​Delhi was the result of a suspicious sudden increase in the family’s earlier investments in immovable properties.

Ramesh Abhishek was posted as DPIIT Secretary from 22 February to July 2019. And before that, from September 21 to July 2019, he was posted as the Chairman of the Forward Markets Commission.

He retired in 2019 after holding various positions in DPIIT (erstwhile Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion) and private companies.

Mr Abhishek is also one of the three independent directors of Paytm who are currently facing investigation by the RBI.

“An independent director plays a vital role in providing oversight, guidance and independent judgment to ensure that we act in the interest of stakeholders while complying with the laws of the country,” explains an official.

According to sources, while posted as secretary, Mr Abhishek reportedly helped parent company One 97 Communications float an IPO.

He was also involved in formulating policies aimed at promoting industrial growth and ease of doing business. “While in service, he also played a key role in implementing initiatives like Make in India, Start-up India and liberalization of FDI to attract business,” says an official.

Mr Abhishek is facing multiple cases by various agencies. Several cases are still pending in various courts as he is contesting the claims.

But troubles became serious for Ramesh Abhishek when the Lokpal, in an order dated February 2, 2022, said that the corruption allegations required a thorough investigation. “Considering the facts and circumstances, we cannot remain a mute spectator to these corruption-related allegations, which must be dealt with sternly. Especially when a large part of the information given by the complainant has been accepted by the public servant. yes.” [respondent] In your affidavits. Therefore, we refer the case to ED along with all the papers related to this complaint.”

While directing necessary legal action, ED was asked to determine the value of the property of Greater Kailash. “ED should also investigate whether there was any conflict of interest in the matter of remuneration received by the public servant [respondent] and/or his relatives. During this inquiry it can also be found out whether he is a public servant. [respondent] It was required to inform the concerned authority, the cost of redevelopment of the property purchased by him in GK-II and whether the appropriate authority was informed or not,” it said.

Based on the preliminary ED report, the Lokpal had on January 3, 2023 directed the agency to further investigate. Mr Abhishek had challenged those orders in the Delhi High Court, which had refused to interfere in the Lokpal proceedings in May 2023.

The Lokpal had handed over the case to the CBI in December last year and after a preliminary investigation on February 15 this year, they registered a case of disproportionate assets.