The arrest of a jeweller over the weekend introduced the entire variety of arrests to 12 in one of many largest banking fraud circumstances to rock northern India lately — a ₹597-crore rip-off involving the embezzlement of presidency funds from Haryana state departments routed via an IDFC First Financial institution department in Chandigarh.
The Haryana State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested Rajan Katodia, proprietor of Sawan Jewellers, on Saturday after investigations revealed that greater than ₹250 crore had been routed to his agency from corporations linked to the prime accused.
How cash was routed through jeweller
“The accused falsely recorded the sale of gold objects to those corporations/corporations of their books,” the ACB mentioned in an announcement issued from Panchkula, including that Katodia had “performed a pivotal position in hatching the conspiracy proper from the inception of the fraud”. Katodia received a hefty fee in return, it’s alleged.
Sawan Jewellers obtained funds via entities similar to Cap Co Fintech Providers, SRR Planning Gurus Pvt Ltd and Swastik Desh Venture — all recognized as shell corporations used to layer the diverted authorities cash.
How frauds labored, who’s on the nub of it
- The fraud centres on IDFC First Financial institution’s department in Sector 32, Chandigarh, the place funds belonging to at the least eight Haryana authorities departments — together with the panchayats division and the air pollution management board — had been meant to be parked as fastened deposits (FDs).
- As an alternative of FDs, the cash was systematically siphoned off via 12 accounts, 10 at IDFC First Financial institution and two at AU Small Finance Financial institution.
- Investigations by the ACB and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have discovered that former financial institution staff Ribhav Rishi and Abhay Kumar had been central to the operation.
- Rishi, who resigned from IDFC First Financial institution in June 2025, allegedly used his entry to authorities accounts to divert funds into an internet of shell entities, together with Swastik Desh Initiatives Pvt Ltd, whose companions are Swati Singla and Abhishek Singla, RS Merchants, and Capco Fintech Providers.
- “The modus operandi includes the incorporation of a shell entity, Swastik Desh Initiatives Pvt Ltd, and large authorities funds had been diverted to this account initially,” the ED mentioned.
Guesthouse caretaker rose to develop into biz tycoon
A serious breakthrough got here with the arrest of Vikram Wadhwa, a 52-year-old Chandigarh-based hotelier and actual property developer, who had been evading legislation enforcement for the reason that rip-off surfaced on February 22.
Wadhwa was intercepted at a hideout in Kharar, Mohali, and was despatched to five-day police remand to hint a cash path spanning over 2,400 transactions, HT has reported.
In his disclosure assertion, Wadhwa alleged that Ribhav Rishi had proposed routing authorities funds via corporations he managed, assuring him that “reverse entries might be made into the federal government accounts each time required.”
Wadhwa claimed the association started round 2023-24, with funds flowing into his actual property ventures in Chandigarh, Mohali and Kharar via entities together with Prisma Residency LLP, Kinspire Realty LLP and Martell Buildwell LLP.
Wadhwa’s story is that of a meteoric rise that has led to jail. Initially from Malout in southwest Punjab, Wadhwa moved to Chandigarh within the Nineteen Nineties as a guesthouse caretaker on a ₹1,500 month-to-month wage, earlier than constructing an actual property empire. He amassed substantial belongings, together with residential properties in Sectors 33, 21 and 36 in Chandigarh and a farmhouse in New Chandigarh.
In his disclosure assertion, Wadhwa claimed that he had identified Rakesh Kumar Rishi, father of Ribhav Rishi, for a number of years. Rakesh launched Wadhwa to his son, Ribhav Rishi.
The place investigation stands
The Haryana ACB has to date arrested 12 people — six financial institution staff, 4 non-public people, one authorities official and the jeweller. Eleven of the accused are in judicial custody.
The investigation crew raided 16 areas, seizing over 25 digital units together with cellphones and laptops, six luxurious autos — three Toyota Fortuners, two Innovas and one Mercedes — and figuring out 10 properties suspected to have been acquired utilizing proceeds of crime.
The ED individually raided 19 premises throughout Chandigarh, Haryana’s Panchkula and Gurugram, Punjab’s Mohali, and even Bengaluru on March 12, freezing over 100 financial institution accounts. A Particular Investigation Workforce (SIT) underneath senior IPS officer Ganga Ram Punia is overseeing the probe.
Investigators suspect that some authorities functionaries could have acted as co-conspirators in facilitating the diversion of funds.
(Inputs from HT correspondents and companies)
