The Special Investigating Team (SIT), probing the Rs 590 crore Haryana IDFC First Bank fraud case has arrested four accused, including a woman, Haryana Director General of Anti-Corruption Bureau, Arshinder Singh Chawla said on Wednesday.
The arrested accused have been identified as Vibhav Rishi, Abhishek Singla, Abhay Kumar and Swati Singla. According to DG Chawla, Rishi and Abhay had masterminded the entire fraud.
According to reports, both the main accused have quit their jobs. While Rishi, a resident of Panchkula, left his IDFC First Bank job six months ago, Abhay had quit in August last year.
How the IDFC First Bank fraud unfolded?
The Rs 590 crore fraud at IDFC First Bank’s Chandigarh branch surfaced earlier this month after the Haryana government found mismatches between the actual bank balance and the money reflected in their accounts.
The accused targeted Haryana Panchayat Department accounts and transferred money to a private firm Swastik Desh Project.
The firm was owned by the accused Swati Singla and her brother Abhishek Singla, both arrested as part of the ongoing investigation.
“A sum of Rs 300 crore was invested in a private company and money also went to AU Small Finance,” the DG said.
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau found that several government departments are involved in this matter, including some accounts of the Chandigarh administration.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau officer further stated that a letter was received on February 23 regarding embezzlement of Panchayat Department funds, and a case was registered following government orders.
The SIT team headed by Ganga Ram Poonia arrested the accused within 24 hours. The investigators will also probe whether senior government officials were also involved in the fraud.
Funds credited back to their accounts
Meanwhile, the IDFC First Bank has returned the funds back to the government. The funds pertaining to various government departments, boards and corporations have been credited back into the respective departmental accounts.
“IDFC Bank has returned the government funds, but the matter is being investigated,” he added.