CBI Court Sentences Former Income Tax Official and Six Others to 4 Years’ Imprisonment in ₹2.38 Crore Fraud Case

Chennai | March 27, 2026 In a significant crackdown on financial corruption, the Special Judge for CBI Cases in Chennai has convicted and sentenced Babu Prasath Kumar, a former Senior Tax Assistant in the Income Tax Department, along with six private individuals, for their involvement in a massive income tax refund scam.

The court handed down a sentence of four years of Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) to each of the seven convicts, collectively imposing a total fine of ₹2.4 lakh. The private individuals identified in the conviction include B Praveen Kumar, Trewellyn Marion Corneille, P Stephen, A Gopikrishna, Venkatesh, and C Gunaseelan.

The case dates back to December 2019, when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered an FIR following a complaint from the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Chennai. The investigation uncovered a sophisticated scheme that operated between June 2015 and August 2019.

During this period, the accused manipulated the department’s systems using forged documents and fictitious identities to generate fraudulent tax refunds.

This criminal enterprise resulted in a staggering wrongful loss of approximately ₹2.38 crore to the Government of India’s Income Tax Department.The CBI’s probe further revealed that Babu Prasath Kumar was the mastermind behind the operation, leveraging his official position to facilitate the fraudulent transactions.

To hide the trail of the illegal proceeds, the “crime money” was systematically routed through the bank accounts of various family members and associates. Following a rigorous investigation, the CBI filed seven charge sheets in March 2021.

Today’s verdict marks the conclusion of a high-profile trial, reinforcing the CBI’s commitment to tackling complex financial crimes and ensuring that public officials who abuse their power are held accountable.