IDFC First Bank scam: Former bank manager, ex-employee among 4 held

“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,” Chawla said.

Officials said that nearly Rs 590 crore belonging to the Haryana government had been parked as fixed deposits in IDFC First Bank’s Chandigarh branch. “It is surprising that the IDFC First Bank branch is in Chandigarh, the Haryana government departments are in state territory, and the AU Small Finance Bank, where the money was transferred, has its branch in Mohali,” Chawla added.

He added, “An initial probe was conducted by a Haryana government department. During this process, the bank became aware of the fraud. IDFC First Bank wanted to lodge a complaint and approached the Chandigarh and Mumbai police. But since the money belonged to the Haryana government, we decided to register the case here. We held discussions with officials in Chandigarh and Mumbai and lodged the FIR in Panchkula, as the fraud likely occurred in Haryana where the departments are located.”

Following this, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed under the supervision of IPS officer Ganga Ram Punia. “The SIT acted swiftly and within 24 hours arrested the two main accused, Ribhav Rishi and Abhay Kumar, after collecting technical evidence. Both had left IDFC First Bank nearly six months ago,” Chawla said.

He also emphasised that the bank has already returned the money to the Haryana government, stating, “This proves that the hard-earned money of the people of Haryana is safe.”

In a statement on Tuesday, IDFC First Bank said: “Preliminary findings indicate that certain employees of the branch acted fraudulently in clearing forged instruments and payment instructions, potentially in collusion with external parties.”