The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Jharkhand on Tuesday arrested senior IAS officer Vinay Kumar Choubey in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam in the state. Following several hours of interrogation, Choubey was remanded to judicial custody till June 3 and sent to Birsa Munda Central Jail in Hotwar.
Choubey, a 1999-batch IAS officer, had served in several important roles, including Secretary to the Chief Minister. At the time of his arrest, he was serving as Principal Secretary, Department of Panchayati Raj.
The arrest follows an investigation into irregularities in the state’s excise policy during Choubey’s tenure as Excise Department Secretary. Alongside him, Gajendra Singh, the department’s Joint Commissioner, has also been arrested in the same case.
An ACB team arrived at Choubey’s residence on Tuesday morning and took him to the agency’s headquarters for questioning. His lawyer, Devesh Ajmani, told reporters, “He has been sent to judicial custody till June 3. We submitted his medical records, but we are unaware of the specific grounds for his arrest.”
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had previously conducted raids in October 2024 at locations linked to Choubey and Singh as part of its probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED’s investigation was based on an FIR filed by the Chhattisgarh ACB on September 7, 2024, in Raipur.
The FIR also named several other high-profile individuals, including retired IAS officer Anil Tuteja, Anwar Dhebar (brother of Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar), and Indian Telecom Service officer Arunpati Tripathi.
The ED had also searched 15 premises across Ranchi and Raipur, including those of state government officials and liquor businessmen.
The investigation continues as authorities probe the financial irregularities and political links tied to the excise scam.
