Chandigarh, February 23 A day after IDFC First Bank revealed a fraud involving Rs 590 crore involving accounts of the Haryana government, the opposition Congress raised the issue in the Assembly on Monday, with Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini announcing an investigation.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini assured the House that an investigation has been ordered, and the State's Anti-Corruption Bureau and vigilance department are investigating the matter.
He stated that whether it is a bank employee or any government employee, anyone found involved will not be spared.
In a regulatory filing made on Sunday, IDFC First Bank had said that it had disclosed the matter to the banking regulator and also filed a police complaint.
"Prima facie, unauthorized and fraudulent activities have been carried out by certain employees at a particular branch in Chandigarh involving a specific set of Haryana state government accounts and potentially involving other individuals/entities/counterparties," the IDFC First Bank filing said.
The Haryana government has de-empaneled IDFC First Bank for government business with immediate effect, the CM told the Assembly.
Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Hooda raised the issue in the Haryana Assembly.
In response, Saini said that after discrepancies were detected, the government immediately decided to transfer the funds to another bank.
"The government is taking this issue seriously, whether it is a bank employee or any other employee, anyone who is involved, strict action will be taken," he said.
Bhupinder Hooda stated that the bank detected the irregularities and demanded that the government should tell the House what action it has taken.
CM Saini said, "We are investigating the matter very seriously".
The ACB is investigating it. Our government works in a transparent manner. It is not an issue which we will take lightly, he assured.
Currently, the bank estimates the fraud size at Rs 590 crore and added that a "reconciliation exercise" will determine the final amount based on receipt of further information, validation of claims, and recoveries of any nature.
Providing details of the fraud, the bank said that a Haryana government department had been banking with IDFC First Bank, and the lender received a request for a closure and balance transfer to another bank on an undisclosed date.
"In the process, certain discrepancies were observed in the amount mentioned vis-a-vis the balance in the account," it said, adding that similar issues were observed in other accounts of Haryana government entities, who engaged with the bank from February 18 onwards.
IDFC First Bank said that a preliminary internal review was conducted, and the matter is "confined to a specific group of government-linked accounts within Haryana Government" operated through the said branch in Chandigarh" and stressed that it does not extend to other customers of the Chandigarh branch.