Gurugram: While four people have been arrested in the alleged Rs 578 crore fraud involving Haryana government bank accounts, it has emerged that the Finance Department had detected irregularities as early as July last year.
Haryana Director General of Police (Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau) Arshinder Singh Chawla said Wednesday that four suspects have been arrested in connection with the case. This includes suspected mastermind Ribhav Rishi, along with Abhishek Singla, Abhay, and Swati.
The DGP did not disclose if any of the accused were bank employees.
Allegations of fraud came to light this week, when IDFC First Bank disclosed to stock exchanges that some unauthorised transactions had been noted in Chandigarh-based accounts linked to the Haryana government. The bank admitted that some of its employees, in collusion with outsiders, were believed to be behind these transactions. It also suspended four employees and ordered an audit by an external agency.
ThePrint found out that on 7 July 2025, the Additional Chief Secretary of the Finance Department wrote to all department heads, managing directors, chief administrators and CEOs of state corporations, boards and autonomous bodies about discrepancies.
The letter, a copy of which has been accessed by ThePrint, flagged continued non-compliance with guidelines on the operation of bank accounts and management of fixed deposits.
The letter specifically called out three areas of deviation: opening of accounts without adhering to proximity norms; selection of banks based on personal preferences; and indications of favouritism in the handling fixed deposits.
It also singled out offices in Panchkula—where most department headquarters are based—for opening bank accounts in Chandigarh “without valid justification, contrary to laid-down instructions”.
Each department was asked to conduct an internal audit of all accounts and fixed deposits within 15 days and submit a compliance report by 30 July 2025.
The letter warned that accountability would be fixed for any non-compliance. Whether those audits were conducted and whether compliance reports were ever submitted has not been made public.
ThePrint has reached out to the additional chief secretary for comment on the matter. The report will be updated if and when he responds.
The key question
The core question investigators are now asking is why government departments, all headquartered in Panchkula, opened accounts in Chandigarh branches of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, in violation of norms that require accounts to be opened at the nearest branch.
ACB sources told ThePrint the answer may lie in a network of private operators who cultivated relationships with IAS officers and officials who allowed opening of bank accounts at specific Chandigarh branches.
Funds from those accounts were allegedly routed into stock markets and other investment avenues, with these operators managing the money trail, investigators said.
What the FIR says
The FIR, registered at the Sector-17 Police Station in Panchkula on 23 February details alleged forgery and procedural violations in two Haryana government accounts opened under the Mukhya Mantri Grameen Awas Yojna 2.0 (MMGAY-2.0) scheme with IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank.
The FIR records forged signatures of an officer who had already relinquished charge, cheques where amounts in figures and words do not match, and transaction alerts routed to a mobile number registered in the name of a government superintendent.
The FIR was filed by Inspector Amit Kumar, posted at the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau. The probe was handed over to DSP Shukar Pal.
CM says money returned
In its letter to the National Stock Exchange published in newspapers Wednesday, IDFC First Bank said the investigation was ongoing and that it remained committed to working with the Haryana government and law enforcement agencies to pursue action against the perpetrators. The bank asserted that it had already made good on 100 percent of the principal and interest amount owed to the state government.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini told the Vidhan Sabha Tuesday that the full amount—Rs 556 crore in principal and Rs 22 crore in interest, totalling Rs 578 crore—had been credited back to government accounts by the banks within 24 hours of the transactions.
The Haryana government has ordered a high-level inquiry into the empanelment of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank as state banking partners and constituted a high-level committee to examine the alleged unauthorised transfers and review the State Bank Policy framework.