New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a senior IAS officer and two former bank officers in connection with the alleged embezzlement of Rs 504 crore from the Haryana government accounts maintained in IDFC First Bank in Chandigarh, officials said on Tuesday.
The alleged actions of the IAS officer, Pardeep Kumar, who was posted as Member Secretary, Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), resulted in the misappropriation of funds and caused a net loss of approximately Rs 169 crore to the government, the CBI said in a statement.
“The investigation has revealed that the actions of Pardeep Kumar, as Member Secretary, had a direct nexus with the fraud. He himself handled the entire investment-related work at his level. Funds for fixed deposits were sent to IDFC First Bank far in excess of the prescribed limits,” a CBI spokesperson said.
“For creating the fixed deposits, the funds of HSPCB were first transferred into an account opened at IDFC First Bank, Sector 32 Branch, Chandigarh,” the CBI spokesperson said. Surprisingly, there is no record which the department could produce with regard to opening of this account, the CBI officer said.
“The conspiracy was so deep that the account got opened without any approvals and funds were transferred into the account in the name of creating fixed deposits. The investigation conducted so far has revealed that no fixed deposits were created in this bank,” the statement said.
Instead, the agency alleged, fraudulent debit transactions were carried out from this account, resulting in the misappropriation of government funds and causing a net loss of approximately Rs 169 crore to the state government.
“This represents the single-largest financial loss suffered by any of the affected government departments of Haryana in the overall scam (of Rs 504 crore),” CBI said.
The spokesperson said that Kumar was not joining the investigation despite repeated efforts. “He was arrested after the CBI successfully traced his whereabouts,” it said.
Earlier, the agency had arrested former area head of IDFC First Bank Shamim Dar and ex-branch manager of AU Small Finance Bank Charanjeet Singh Randhawa in connection with the alleged embezzlement.
It is alleged that they siphoned the amount through irregular investment of surplus funds in fixed deposits and through fraudulent transactions routed through bank accounts opened for this purpose, they said.
“Investigation revealed that both accused, in their respective capacities as bank officials, played incriminating roles in facilitating opening of bank accounts and in facilitating fraudulent transactions through which public funds were diverted,” the CBI spokesperson said.
Funds worth Rs 504 crore of eight Haryana government departments were allegedly siphoned through forged, non-existent fixed deposits, debit notes and routed to shell entities, the officer said.
