The CBI raided residences of 3 IAS officers and an IFS officer of Haryana in the IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank scam. Simultaneous raids were carried out at six locations in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Delhi-NCR region. These raids were carried out in the case of irregularities of Rs 661 crore in the government funds deposited in the banks of eight departments of the Haryana government and two departments of the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
The IAS officers included Pankaj Agarwal, Mohammed Shayin, Pradeep Kumar and IFS Navneet Kumar Srivastava. Along with this, the premises of Noida-based MS Vipam Consultancy Pvt Ltd and its director were also raided. The documents, mobile phones, laptops and other digital devices found during the investigation have been seized by the CBI.
“The CBI's primary investigation has revealed that these officials, in collaboration with bankers, opened the alleged accounts, government money was transferred to other accounts. The CBI is currently investigating what profit the officials got in return for these accounts.
Shayin was the MD of Haryana Power Generation Corporation Ltd (HPGCL), Agarwal was heading the Agriculture Department as administrative secretary, and Pardeep Kumar was Member Secretary of Haryana State Pollution Control Board when the fraud took place.
IFS officer Navneet Kumar Srivastava, former CEO of Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST), and a private firm M/s Vipam Consultancy Pvt Ltd and its director were also raided.
During the investigation, evidence has emerged suggesting that public servants colluded with bank officials to facilitate the opening of accounts, fund transfers and subsequent diversion. The CBI stated that these officials allegedly received undue advantages for their facilitation and inaction.
“M/s Vipam Consultancy Pvt Ltd, Noida, was found to have received the crime proceeds into its account, which were subsequently transferred to the Director's personal account. During the search operations, incriminating documents, digital devices, property documents and other relevant material were seized,” CBI added.
Haryana govt allowed investigation of 8 IAS officers
The Haryana government had previously authorised an investigation into eight IAS officers under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. These officers were Mohd Shayin, Pankaj Agarwal, Vineet Garg, RK Singh, Pardeep Kumar, Mani Ram Sharma and Saket Kumar. The eighth officer was IAS DK Behra.
The CBI interrogated them last month and also seized their phones. When the scam surfaced, the Haryana government suspended two IAS officers, RK Singh and Pardeep Kumar, and transferred the rest.
It is alleged that government department accounts with IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank were opened at the behest of IAS officers, and that embezzlement from these accounts occurred during their tenure in the concerned departments.
What is the case?
The CBI registered the FIR on April 8. Earlier, the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV&ACB) had investigated the case following an FIR on February 23. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also investigating the case.
Investigating agencies revealed that government department funds were supposed to be maintained in FDRs, but these were never created. Instead, forged FDRs were misrepresented to the concerned departments while the corresponding funds were siphoned off through transfers to various entities and individuals, including shell entities, via a complex web of transactions.
On May 21, the CBI filed a chargesheet against 13 individuals and two shell entities. Six bank officials, Ribhav Rishi, Abhay Kumar, Seema Dhiman, Priyanka Bhatoa, Anuj Kaushal and Arun Sharma, were named as accused. Additionally, Abhishek Singla and Swati Singla, directors of Swastik Desh Projects, and Ankur Sharma, director of M/s SRR Planning Gurus, were also named.
The BuckStopper, run by a group of seasoned journalists, holds the powerful accountable. The buck stops with them, as they cannot shrug off their official responsibilities.
