The Rs.590 crore scam involving government departments in Haryana is now getting bigger. Earlier, two banks in the Chandigarh-Mohali area were linked to the case. Now, a third bank has also come under suspicion.
About ₹145 crore fraud has been reported in Kotak Mahindra Bank. The matter was hidden for nearly six days before it came out.
Earlier, a big fraud of Rs.590 crore was reported in the Chandigarh branch of IDFC First Bank. Funds of Haryana Govt were embezzled by some employees of the bank.
The Panchkula Municipal Corporation had opened an account in the Sector-11 branch of the bank. The bank had 16 Fixed Deposits (FDs) of the Corporation, which were earlier transferred from SBI. Now it has been found that records of five FDs are missing. This created panic among officials.
Municipal Corporation officials quickly informed the bank and the Haryana government through letters. After this, Kotak Mahindra Bank filed a complaint with the DCP, Panchkula. The case has now been handed over to the Economic Offences Wing for investigation.
When the scam was first noticed, officials asked the bank to return the FD money after maturity. The bank replied that it had no records of the FDs with the given reference numbers.
This reply shocked the Municipal Corporation. An investigation team was formed, including the Accounts Officer, Commissioner, and Joint Commissioner. The team prepared a report and sent it to the government and the bank.
The fraud was carried out very cleverly. Bank employees kept sending FD renewal documents, so officials believed everything was normal. Because of this, officials did not check the real status of the accounts.
Originally, the Corporation had two bank accounts. Later, two more accounts were opened using the same documents without proper approval. Money from these accounts was then transferred to different accounts. Reports say that a large amount was also sent to a woman linked to the bank.
The FD amounts were renewed again and again, but officials did not verify the details. Recently, when officials tried to withdraw the money, a bank employee visited them and offered to renew the FDs at a higher interest rate. This raised suspicion and officials did not trust the offer, and the full scam came to light.
People are criticizing Government for transferring funds from SBI into a private sector bank. Public says Government funds should be kept in Government Banks. The employees of these banks are permanent and are accountable for the work they do.
