The Haryana Vigilance Bureau arrested four people in connection with the IDFC First Bank fraud case on Tuesday — including the masterminds behind the Rs 590-crore scam. Officials said two of the individuals were former employees while the others own a partnership firm. A company called Swastik Desh Projects was used to funnel most of the funds and links all four of the accused through familial ties.
Former branch manager Ribhav Rishi and former relationship manager Abhay Kumar were arrested on Tuesday. Swati Singla — the wife of Kumar — and her brother Abhishek Singla were also taken into custody. The company in question is owned by the sibling duo with Swati holding 75% of shares.
“This is the main private company into whose accounts most of the funds—nearly Rs 300 crore—were transferred, and later the money was moved further. Most of this amount belonged to Haryana government departments. Some Chandigarh administration department funds may also be involved, though the scale is small,” Indian Express quoted ACB Director General A S Chawla as confirming on Wednesday.
The arrests come days after IDFC Bank disclosed that a Rs 590-crore fraud was committed by its employees and others in accounts held by the Haryana government. The ACB had registered an FIR in connection with the fraud while the state government constituted a committee to probe the matter. A Special Investigation Team was constituted under the overall supervision of senior IPS officer Ganga Ram Punia.
Rishi was the head of the bank’s Sector 32 branch till six months ago when he left the job. Abhay, the bank’s relationship manager, quit the job around August last year. They had masterminded the fraud and transferred around Rs 300 crore to the Swastik Desh Project’s bank account.
“Preliminary findings indicate that certain employees of the branch acted fraudulently in clearing forged instruments and payment instructions, potentially in collusion with external parties,” the bank added.
IDFC FIRST Bank repays Rs 583 crore to Haryana govt
The bank released a statement on Wednesday confirming that it had repaid the principal amount in its entirety to the Haryana administration. The bank said the incident involved certain accounts of government departments of the Government of Haryana — with preliminary findings indicated that certain employees of the branch acted fraudulently in clearing forged instruments and payment instructions, potentially in collusion with external parties
“The Bank has immediately honored 100% of the principal and interest claimed by the relevant departments of the Government of Haryana, amounting to Rs 583 crore. Final amount may change depending on any further claims or reconciliation,” the company said in its statement.