Who Is Satyabrata Kumar? ED Officer Who Led ED Probes Against Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya Opts For VRS

New Delhi: Satyabrata Kumar, a former ED special director who led the probe against Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and the Mahadev online betting app, took voluntary retirement from service (VRS) on Sunday. The officer -- scheduled to retire in 2037—had about 11 years left in government service until he attained the superannuation age of 60 years, officials said, as reported by PTI. Sources told the news agency that Kumar had left government service to pursue personal pursuits. Kumar led investigations into many high-profile investigations undertaken by the Mumbai-based western regional office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). According to officials, 48-year-old Kumar was granted approval by the Union government to proceed on VRS in April, and formal

orders were issued in this regard earlier this month.Who is Satyabrata Kumar?Kumar is a 2004-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the Customs and Indirect Taxes cadre. He was posted as Commissioner (Appeals) in West Bengal's Siliguri after he was repatriated from the ED, exactly a year back. He had served in the ED for nearly 12 years, making him one of the longest-serving officers on deputation in the agency.He led investigations into the USD 2 billion alleged bank fraud case against diamond traders Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, the bank loan fraud case against liquor-baron Vijay Mallya, and a number of "sensitive" cases involving several Maharashtra politicos.Also Read: ED Strengthened to Cure Corruption Cancer, Not Target Anyone: Union Minister He was instrumental in the attachment of several foreign-based assets worth crores, deemed proceeds of crime, in the PNB fraud case. The ED's western regional office under Kumar also probed the Mahadev betting app case in which links to various Chhattisgarh-based politicians and businessmen emerged.This is the second time in less than a year that an officer has resigned from government service soon after leaving the ED. In July 2025, Kapil Raj, a former ED joint director who supervised arrests of two chief ministers -- Hemant Soren and Arvind Kejriwal -- in separate money laundering cases, resigned from service 15 years before his scheduled retirement.