The agency, which had registered a case last year in this connection, needs information from the US authorities about the financial transactions of the firm Pride International whose Indian subsidiary is alleged to have made the payoffs to the then Customs Tribunal judge Gowri Shankar in 2003, an accused in the case, CBI sources said.
They said the case was registered by the agency after the US government gave details of alleged illicit payments of US Dollars five lakh made to then member judge in Customs, Excise and Gold tribunal to the Indian government.
The payments were allegedly made for overturning a Customs Commissioner order of 2001 against Pride Foramer India, the sources said.
The Commissioner had directed the company to pay a hefty penalty along with the interest for allegedly understating the value of an instrument used for oil drilling, they said.
The sources said the agency is finalising its Letters Rogatory to the US and other European countries to track the trail of the money which was allegedly received by the judge.
During its probe, the agency had also carried out searches at the judge's house and found that he had allegedly invested the money in Mumbai, Goa and Ahmedabad after his retirement in 2003, the sources said.
The agency had also analysed phone records of the judge which had brought under the scanner the role of two other persons including a company official and a customs consultant.
