CBI Books Kanpur NCCF Branch Manager in ₹30 Lakh Bribery Scandal Involving Wife’s Liquor License

LUCKNOW/KANPUR – In a significant crackdown on institutional corruption, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), Lucknow, has registered a regular case against a senior official of the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) for allegedly soliciting massive bribes from an empanelled vendor.

The FIR, filed on April 1, 2026, names Anurag Sharma, the Branch Manager of NCCF Kanpur, his wife Pratibha Sharma, and Sunil Jaiswal, the proprietor of M/s Jaiswal Trading Company, as the primary accused in a criminal conspiracy.

The “Liquor Shop” Connection

The investigation centers on allegations that Anurag Sharma used his official position to obtain “undue advantages” from vendors in exchange for licenses and other professional favors. According to the CBI, this corruption manifested in the form of a liquor shop license in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh.

In March 2025, a liquor shop was allotted to Sharma’s wife, Pratibha, with a staggering total license fee of ₹1,38,02,880 . The CBI alleges that Sunil Jaiswal—whose firm was an empanelled supplier for the NCCF and thus under Sharma’s official influence—funded a significant portion of the licensing requirements as a bribe.

Financial Trail of Undue Advantage

The CBI has detailed a specific trail of payments totaling ₹30,80,400:

• Direct License Fee Payment: On March 9, 2025, Jaiswal allegedly paid ₹17,00,000 directly to the Government of Uttar Pradesh from his company’s bank account on behalf of Pratibha Sharma to cover the shop’s basic license fees .
• Personal Account Transfer: On March 17, 2025, another ₹13,80,400 was transferred from the vendor’s account to Pratibha Sharma’s personal bank account .
• Fulfilling Licensing Mandates: This second sum was immediately used to create a Short-Term Deposit Receipt (STDR) of ₹13,80,288, which was then marked as a lien in favor of the Excise Department to meet the shop’s licensing requirements .

Legal Proceedings

The CBI obtained formal permission to investigate under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act from the Managing Director of NCCF on March 25, 2026. The accused have been booked under Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Sections 11 and 12 of the PC Act, 1988.

The case has been entrusted to Dy. SP Pradeep Kumar Singh for a detailed investigation.