Chandigarh, February 24 Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Tuesday informed the State Assembly that the state government had recovered nearly Rs 556 crore owed to it in the IDFC First Bank case.
"Nearly Rs 556 crore, including nearly Rs 22 crore in interest, was recovered within 24 hours," Saini said in the House.
On Sunday, the bank disclosed a Rs 590-crore fraud committed by its employees and others in accounts held by the Haryana government.
"I want to clarify before the House that the money related to Haryana government departments has been deposited back into our accounts...The recovery has been made within 24 hours," Saini said.
He said the bank had informed the government that the incident primarily involved a particular branch of the bank in Chandigarh, involving four to five bank employees of middle and lower ranks who were involved in the fraud.
The government will ensure that anyone involved – be it a bank employee, a private individual, or even a government employee – will not go unpunished, he said.
On Monday, Saini said the state's Anti-Corruption Bureau would conduct a thorough investigation into the fraud.
"We have formed a committee headed by the Finance Secretary in this entire matter," Saini said on Monday.
Taking a dig at the Congress, Saini said during the party's time, scams used to be hushed up and no one was held accountable, whereas the BJP government is working with zero tolerance towards corruption.
The opposition Congress had raised the IDFC First Bank issue in the Assembly.
The Rs 590-crore fraud involving Haryana government accounts is the result of a collusion between employees of the IDFC Bank and external parties, the bank's Managing Director and Chief Executive V Vaidyanathan said on Monday.
In a specially convened call for investors and analysts ahead of the opening of the equity markets, Vaidyanathan said the bank will take some provisions as a result of the fraud.