Srivastava (right) being taken to court. File picture

New Delhi, April 19: The CBI today told a Delhi court that it would file a chargesheet against former Nalco chairman Abhay Kumar Srivastava, arrested for allegedly taking bribes, within a week.

“We assured the court that the chargesheet will be filed by April 26, within the stipulated 60-day period in a graft case. The court also extended the judicial custody of the accused,” said a CBI officer. If chargesheets are not filed within 60 days of arrest, the accused can be released on bail.

Srivastava, 58, and his wife Chandni were held on February 26 in the national capital along with a couple — Bhushan Lal and Anita Bajaj — who acted as conduits for them to collect bribes from clients in exchange for granting contracts. All of them are now lodged in Tihar jail.

Ten kg of gold bricks worth Rs 2.15 crore and Rs 29.5 lakh in cash were seized from Chandni’s bank lockers.

The investigators have seized several documents that show Srivastava made huge investments in movable and immovable properties with money allegedly earned as bribes from clients. The sacked PSU chief is suspected to have amassed several crores, wealth disproportionate to his declared sources of income.

The CBI had earlier told the court that Anita allegedly received bribes from Gurvinder Singh Bhatia, the chairman-cum-managing director of the Indore-based Bhatia group of companies, in return for Nalco contracts.

The wealth and the papers recovered so far suggest Srivastava had taken bribes from other clients while he headed two other PSUs, the CBI had said in earlier hearings. “We have got several documents suggesting that Srivastava also took huge bribes for favouring clients during his stint at the NTPC and Cement Corporation of India Ltd (both PSUs). Everything will be mentioned in detail in the chargesheet,” said the officer.

A mechanical engineer, Srivastava joined Nalco in 2009.

Bhushan and Anita negotiated and accepted bribes from suppliers seeking to deal with the aluminium company. They handed over the bribes to Chandni who used the money to buy gold and keep it in bank lockers.