CBI Arrests Senior IAS Officer and Two Former Bank Executives in ₹504 Crore Embezzlement Scandal
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a senior IAS officer and two former bank executives in connection with the alleged embezzlement of ₹504 crore from Haryana government accounts. The funds were reportedly misappropriated through fraudulent transactions at IDFC First Bank in Chandigarh, according to officials.
The accused include Pardeep Kumar, a senior IAS officer who served as member secretary of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB). According to the CBI, Kumar's actions led to the misappropriation of funds and caused a net loss of approximately ₹169 crore to the government. He was placed under suspension by the Haryana government and was set to retire on Tuesday. However, he was arrested after the CBI traced his whereabouts.
The CBI stated that Kumar had been evading investigation for some time. His role in the scam involved handling investment-related work at his level, including transferring funds into an account at IDFC First Bank, Sector 32 Branch, Chandigarh, far exceeding the prescribed limits. The agency revealed that no records exist regarding the opening of this account, which was created without any approvals.
Instead of creating fixed deposits (FDs), the CBI alleged that fraudulent debit transactions were carried out from this account, leading to the siphoning of public funds. This incident is considered the largest financial loss suffered by any Haryana government department in the overall ₹504 crore scam.
CBI Arrests Two Former Bank Executives
Earlier on Monday, the CBI arrested two former banking executives—Shamim Dar, the then area head of IDFC First Bank, and Charanjeet Singh Randhawa, the then branch manager of AU Small Finance Bank’s Mohali branch. These arrests came after investigators uncovered incriminating evidence showing that both officials abused their positions to facilitate the opening of unauthorized bank accounts and execute fraudulent transactions.
Both accused were produced before the duty magistrate in Panchkula court and were remanded in custody for three days. The CBI stated that Dar, while serving as area head of IDFC First Bank’s government banking group, was responsible for sourcing, generating, and approving the opening of several government department accounts, including those of Kalka municipal corporation (MC), Panchkula MC, the Haryana Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB), and others.
The CBI alleged that both individuals siphoned funds through irregular investments in FDs and fraudulent transactions routed through these accounts. Dar was implicated in a forged debit of ₹2.49 crore from the HSSPP account, a ₹10-crore cancelled-cheque debit from the HSAMB account, and a backdated change of an authorised signatory. Randhawa, on the other hand, was accused of approving fraudulent debits worth around ₹47.51 crore from the director panchayat MMGAY 2.0 account and authorising the transfer of ₹25 crore from the HPGCL Employees Pension Fund Trust account to a shell company.
Expanding the Scam: A Network of Complicity
With the latest arrests, the CBI has so far chargesheeted a total of 17 individuals in connection with the scam. The network includes six bank officials from both IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, three Haryana government public servants who allegedly compromised state oversight, two implicated corporate companies, and six private individuals who assisted in laundering the stolen public funds.
According to the CBI, the fraud was orchestrated through the IDFC First Bank’s Sector-32 branch in Chandigarh. Funds amounting to ₹504 crore belonging to eight Haryana government departments were allegedly siphoned off through forged or non-existent fixed deposits and debit notes before being routed to shell entities.
The CBI emphasized the need for custodial interrogation of the accused to confront them with documentary and digital evidence. The court granted the CBI a three-day police remand for further investigation. The case highlights a deep-rooted conspiracy involving multiple layers of complicity and raises serious concerns about financial accountability and governance in public institutions.
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