The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Amit Kumar Singal and his associate Harsh Kotak in a high-profile bribery case, seizing ₹1 crore in cash, 3.5 kilograms of gold, and 2 kilograms of silver during extensive searches at their properties in Delhi and Punjab.
According to officials quoted by news agency PTI, the operation followed a trap laid by the agency after a businessman filed a complaint alleging that Singal had demanded a hefty bribe to resolve an income tax matter.
Bribe Demanded to Quash Tax Notice
Singal, a 2007-batch IRS officer serving as Additional Director General at the Directorate of Taxpayer Services, allegedly sought ₹45 lakh from Sanam Kapoor, the owner of the pizza chain La Pino’z Pizza, to settle an income tax notice. Kapoor, in his complaint to the CBI, stated that the first instalment of ₹25 lakh was delivered at Singal’s residence in Mohali, Punjab, where Kotak received the money on the officer’s behalf.
CBI conducts searches and recovers approx. 3.5 kg of gold, 2 kg of silver and one crore cash etc. in the on-going investigation related to arrest of two accused including a Senior IRS officer pic.twitter.com/t5Jbmmc1PO
— Central Bureau of Investigation (India) (@CBIHeadquarters) June 2, 2025
Kapoor’s complaint has been included in the First Information Report (FIR) registered by the CBI. “After termination of master franchise contracts with Parker Impex and its associate firms in the month of December 2024, Singal, using his influence, got income tax notice … issued to me by Income Tax department on February 18, 2025,” Kapoor alleged, as per PTI.
The FIR details a complex business relationship between Kapoor and Singal that began when Singal was posted as Joint Commissioner at the Customs Department in Mumbai. He allegedly approached Kapoor and subsequently entered into a master franchise agreement through Parker Impex, a firm run by his mother, Ranjna, and one Amit Rattan.
Further agreements were reportedly signed with Flevaco, linked to Kotak and his mother, and Mohini Hospitality, where Kotak’s wife Kiran served as proprietor. Over time, Kotak replaced Rattan in Parker Impex, the FIR noted. Following a fallout, Kapoor claimed he was pressured to repurchase three outlets at six times their original value.
Kapoor also alleged that the tax notice was a form of retaliation, issued due to Singal’s influence, after the franchise contracts were terminated.
According to the FIR, Kapoor met Singal at his Delhi office in April, where the officer allegedly demanded ₹45 lakh to settle the tax notice. He was threatedned with heavy if he refused to pay, the FIR stated. The CBI spokesperson added, “The demand for the bribe was accompanied by threats of legal action, imposition of heavy penalties and harassment in case of non-compliance.”
Trap Laid After Recording Suggested Bribe Demand
As per CBI officials, a verification process was initiated, during which a covert recording of a nearly four-hour-long meeting between Kapoor, Kotak, Singal, and a lawyer was made on 30 May. The recorded conversation reportedly suggested a bribe demand.
Acting swiftly, the CBI laid a trap the next day. Kotak was caught while allegedly accepting the ₹25 lakh bribe at Singal’s Mohali residence. A separate team arrested Singal from his home in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj.
Following their arrests, both individuals were presented before a special magistrate in Chandigarh, who remanded them to judicial custody until 13 June, according to Kapoor’s lawyer, Gagandeep Jammu, PTI reported.
A CBI spokesperson said the bribe demand had been made “accompanied by threats of legal action, imposition of heavy penalties and harassment in case of non-compliance”.
