Bribery and Corruption Casebook: The View from Under the Table

CHAPTER 29

The Corrupt Public Servant

SANDEEP MEHRA

Jay Verma was a high-ranking officer in the Government of India, working in a remote location. When he was offered a job managing a state employees’ retirement fund in Mumbai, he jumped at the chance to move his children to the city, where they would receive a better education. His wife, Sheila, was a stay-at-home mom to their two teenage daughters, 15-year-old Neeti and 13-year-old Preeti. The new job required collecting retirement contributions from various government employees, matching the same with the government’s contribution and investing the entire amount in government securities to get the highest rate of return and for easy liquidity. Jay had scant knowledge about investments, so he knew he would have to rely heavily on someone.

The new job was nothing like his previous one, where he had been in charge of safekeeping and transportation of food grains. Jay ensured they were distributed correctly and that suppliers were paid on time. In other words, his old job was drab and offered him no financial gains or excitement. Above all, it required that he and his family live in a rural part of Maharashtra, India, where his wife often complained about the upbringing of their daughters and the lack of opportunities for their growth. Hence his eagerness for this new job opportunity, even if he did not have the expected experience.

His wife had been a Chartered Accountant and worked in Mumbai for some time before marrying Jay. ...