The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has asked the Central Bureau of Investigation for information on the role of its member, A Krishnamurthy, in the bribery scandal that led to the resignation of Minister of State for Finance Gingee Ramachandran.
Krishnamurthy, a Chennai-based chartered accountant and a member of the ICAI, allegedly acted as an intermediary in the case.
The institute had called for information from both the parties, the CBI and Krishnamurthy, before initiating any disciplinary action, ICAI President R Bupathy said.
"The institute's action is suo motu and is taken on the basis of media reports," he said.
The CBI had arrested R Perumalswamy, personal assistant to Ramachandran, on May 22 for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 400,000 from Anurag Vardhan, a 1994 batch Indian Revenue Service officer.
It alleged that Vardhan had struck a deal with Perumalswamy through Krishnamurthy to arrange a transfer from Delhi to Mumbai.
The CBI had recovered cash worth Rs 305,000 from Vardhan's residence. It also found Rs 69 lakh (Rs 6.9 million) in cash and Rs 85 lakh (Rs 8.5 million) worth of cheques in Krishnamurthy's residence, besides other incriminating documents.
Bupathy said once the institute obtains information from both the parties, it would place the matter before its executive council, the apex decision-making body of the ICAI.
The council will then decide whether to take disciplinary action against Krishnamurthy.
Incidentally, Bupathy had claimed in the latest issue of the ICAI's journal that the proportion of 'wayward' CAs was very small when compared to the number of practicing members or the total number of clients handled or the aggregate business handled by them.
He further said such waywardness needed to be dealt with firmly to ensure that the reputation of the profession was constantly reinforced.
Bupathy said the institute had put in place measures to speed up the disposal of disciplinary cases.
"During April, the council devoted three days on the disposal of disciplinary cases," he said.
The process has been speeded up because of the institute's concern for its members as well as the need to develop a more positive image of the profession in society.
The ICAI president, however, said the institute would not come out with a code of conduct for its members. "This will send out a wrong signal to the members," Bupathy said.
