IBBI suspends Insolvency Professional after CBI arrests him for demanding bribe of ₹20 lakh

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has suspended Insolvency Professional (IP) Subrata Monindranath Maity for demanding a bribe of ₹20 lakh to settle the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of a party..The suspension follows the arrest of Maity by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which probed the matter. The interim order passed by the Disciplinary Committee of the Board stated,"This raises serious questions of him being ‘fit and proper’ to continue as an IP. His arrest is bound to hamper the ongoing processes being handled by him, and therefore would jeopardise the interest of concerned stakeholders.".Maity, who is registered as a professional member of the Indian Institute of Insolvency Professionals of ICAI, was arrested by the CBI for allegedly demanding a bribe of ₹20 lakh from the promoter of Guardian Homes Pvt Ltd for settlement of the CIRP of Guardian Homes..As per the complaint dated May 3 filed with the CBI, it was alleged that after the settlement between the operational creditor and Guardian Homes, Maity had approached the latter and demanded an additional amount of ₹20 lakh in addition to his fees of ₹4 lakh. He allegedly threatened the complainant that failure to pay the additional amount would result in coercive actions against Guardian Homes such as seizure of bank account, publication of notice of liquidation, etc..On receiving the complaint, the CBI conducted an operation after which a third party individual acting on behalf of the IP was arrested with an initial payment of ₹2 lakh, followed by the arrest of the IP himself. The CBI is still investigating the matter and based on incriminating documents found at the premises of the accused, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered on May 4. .On going through the FIR, the Disciplinary Committee found that the allegations were serious in nature and led to a contravention of multiple provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 as well as the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Inspection and Investigation) Regulations, 2017..The Committee has now suspended Maity with immediate effect for 90 days. The order also directed the Board to issue a show-cause notice to Maity, a response to which is required to be submitted before the Committee within 30 days from the date of issue of the order..(Read the Interim Order)