The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has stepped up its probe into the alleged multi-crore IDFC First Bank fraud involving eight Haryana government departments. As part of the ongoing investigation, the agency has sought permission to collect voice samples of key accused and has widened its inquiry into the alleged involvement of senior bureaucrats and bank officials.
The case is being investigated simultaneously by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is tracing the alleged money trail, while the CBI is examining the alleged criminal conspiracy, the role of public servants and banking officials, and the administrative approvals that allegedly facilitated the diversion of government funds.
Sources familiar with the investigation told The Sunday Guardian that the CBI is planning to obtain voice samples of several accused to aid the forensic examination of electronic evidence. The agency has already initiated the process for securing the required approvals. At the same time, the agency has filed charge sheets against Abhay Kumar, Naresh Kumar, Vikram Wadhwa and former IDFC First Bank Branch Manager Ribhav Rishi.
The CBI took over the investigation after the Haryana government transferred the case, citing its inter-state ramifications. During the course of the probe, investigators allegedly found that nearly Rs 50 crore belonging to the Haryana Labour Welfare Board (HLWB) had been fraudulently withdrawn and routed through shell entities, including Capco Fintech Services, SRR Planning Gurus Private Limited and Swastik Desh Projects. According to the agency, sufficient evidence was gathered against two officials, leading to their arrest.
Sources further told The Sunday Guardian that the CBI has obtained approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act to investigate the role of several senior bureaucrats, including Pankaj Agrawal, R.K. Singh, Pradeep Kumar, Mohammed Shayin, Saket Kumar, Mani Ram Sharma and D.K. Behera.
According to sources, following the arrest of three IAS officers, the agency may next move against Mani Ram Sharma, a 2009-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre. Sharma served as Haryana’s Labour Commissioner for nearly two-and-a-half years, a period during which investigators allege that funds belonging to the Haryana Labour Welfare Board were systematically diverted. He has already appeared before the CBI for multiple rounds of questioning regarding administrative approvals and the movement of funds.
Investigators allege that Rs 50 crore from the Labour Welfare Board was transferred into accounts maintained at IDFC First Bank’s Sector 32 branch in Chandigarh before being siphoned off through a network of shell companies.
The investigation has also uncovered what officials describe as a crucial cash trail. Moreover, forensic analysis of WhatsApp chats and other electronic evidence indicates that approximately Rs 2 crore in cash was allegedly delivered inside Sharma’s vehicle as an illegal payoff. Investigators are now examining the chat records, mobile location data and other digital evidence, including a WhatsApp conversation in which a “thumbs-up” emoji was allegedly sent after the purported cash delivery.
The investigation has also expanded to include alleged financial irregularities in Chandigarh’s CREST department. Navneet Kumar Srivastava, a senior Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer, was arrested in connection with the alleged diversion of institutional funds during his tenure. According to investigators, between Rs 75 crore and Rs 83 crore from CREST’s green energy funds, parked at the same Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank, were allegedly siphoned off through nearly 300 unauthorised transactions. The CBI further alleges that part of the diverted money was transferred to a private company in which Srivastava’s wife and another close relative are directors.
Investigators believe the alleged fraud forms part of a much larger conspiracy involving nearly Rs 504 crore belonging to eight Haryana government departments. According to the agency, public funds were allegedly diverted using forged or fictitious fixed deposits, unauthorised debit transactions and a network of shell companies before being layered through multiple financial channels.
The broader case was initially investigated by Haryana’s State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau before being handed over to the CBI.
The agency has already filed charge sheets against 17 accused, including six officials of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, three government employees, two companies and six private individuals.
The CBI has stated that the investigation is continuing to identify all beneficiaries, trace the complete trail of diverted public funds and recover the alleged proceeds of crime.
According to investigators, the alleged fraud was executed through a sophisticated combination of banking manipulation and administrative lapses.
The FIR and the investigation suggest that government departments authorised the transfer of public funds believing they were being invested in secure fixed deposits. Instead, bank officials allegedly opened unauthorised current accounts using fabricated documentation and issued fake fixed deposit certificates and passbooks bearing forged bank seals to conceal the fraud. Once the money was deposited into these unauthorised accounts, investigators allege it was swiftly withdrawn through fraudulent debit notes and fictitious cheque clearances before being routed through shell companies, thereby bypassing government audit mechanisms.
The CBI alleges that former IDFC First Bank Branch Manager Ribhav Rishi and former AU Small Finance Bank manager Charanjeet Singh Randhawa played pivotal roles in orchestrating the alleged conspiracy with the assistance of public servants and other accused.
Notably, the case came to light after a committee constituted by Haryana’s Panchayats Department examined financial transactions under the Mukhya Mantri Grameen Awaas Yojana (MMGAY-2.0).
The committee found that two bank accounts were opened on 26 September 2025 in IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, into which Rs 50 crore and Rs 25 crore, respectively, were transferred.
The inquiry reportedly found no approval from the competent authority for utilising these funds. It also alleged that the cheques bore forged signatures, including those purportedly of former Haryana State Pollution Control Board Director General D.K. Behera, while debit notes lacked official dispatch and reference numbers. Transaction alerts and confirmations were allegedly linked to a mobile number registered in the name of a superintendent in the Panchayats Department.
Following the inquiry, Haryana’s State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau registered an FIR on 23 February 2026. Subsequently, the Haryana government transferred the investigation to the CBI on 25 March, citing inter-state ramifications, possible transnational diversion of funds and the alleged involvement of public servants and bank officials.
The CBI re-registered the case on 8 April 2026 under the Prevention of Corruption Act and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
At the time of registration, the alleged loss to the public exchequer was estimated at over Rs 550 crore. As the investigation expanded to cover eight government departments, investigators revised the suspected diversion to between Rs 645 crore and Rs 657 crore.
According to the FIR accessed by The Sunday Guardian, the case relates to the alleged misappropriation of more than Rs 550 crore of government funds through forged banking documents, fraudulent transactions and shell companies. The FIR alleges that forged cheques, fabricated debit notes and fake bank statements were used to mislead government officials while diverting funds to entities including Swastik Desh Project, SRR Planning Gurus Pvt. Ltd., Capco Fintech Services and R.S. Traders.
Considering the magnitude of the alleged fraud, its inter-state ramifications and the suspected involvement of public servants, banking officials and private individuals, the Haryana government entrusted the investigation to the CBI.
Senior journalist Ravindra Singh Sheoran told The Sunday Guardian that Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Ministry of Home Affairs are closely monitoring the investigation. He further said that despite the scale of the alleged fraud, the case has not received the public or political attention it warrants. Sheoran also observed that although the CBI has arrested three IAS officers, the agency would require sanction under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act before prosecuting serving IAS and IFoS officers, after which the legal proceedings can move ahead.
The Sunday Guardian also spoke to defence lawyers representing some of the accused, who confirmed that they have received copies of the charge sheets and would contest the allegations before the court.
The newspaper also sought a response from IDFC First Bank regarding the ongoing investigation. However, the bank had not responded by the time the story went to press.
