‘Money will come back’: Haryana CM assures Assembly on Rs 590 crore IDFC bank fraud 

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Monday assured the state Assembly that the Rs 590 crore involved in the IDFC First Bank fraud case is safe and will be recovered, as per reported by ANI. 

Addressing MLAs in the Haryana Legislative Assembly, Saini said the government acted quickly after noticing irregularities in certain transactions. He said the funds were shifted to an authorised bank after glitches came to light and statements did not match.

“We have been proactive in catching this fraud... When some glitches were noted, we asked for statements, and those, too, did not match. Therefore, the government decided to transfer all the money to an authorised bank, with interest... IDFC First Bank wrote a letter to SEBI in its defence, saying an employee was at fault,” the Chief Minister said.

He added that the matter has now been handed over to the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Vigilance Department for a detailed probe.

“We transferred the matter to the Anti-Corruption Bureau and Vigilance Department. The investigation is going on... the money is completely safe, and it will definitely come back. Appropriate action will be taken against those found guilty, and even the bank if it is at fault,” he said.

Saini stressed that the government is treating the issue seriously and has examined the case at the ground level.

“The matter surfaced on social media recently, we have investigated the case till the ground level... I assure the House that all the money will come back... I can make any statement only after the investigation...,” the CM stated.

In the wake of the controversy, Haryana’s Finance Department (Institutional Finance & Credit Control) has de-empanelled IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank for government operations with immediate effect. All departments, boards, corporations and public sector undertakings have been told to shift their funds from these banks to other authorised banks and close the accounts until further notice.

In a stock exchange filing, IDFC First Bank said it had suspended four employees after discovering fraudulent activity involving approximately Rs 590 crore in certain Haryana government accounts at its Chandigarh branch.

“The bank has launched an investigation and plans to recover the funds through legal and disciplinary action. Based on the preliminary internal review conducted, the matter is confined to a specific group of government-linked accounts within Haryana Government operated through the said branch in Chandigarh and does not extend to other customers of the Chandigarh Branch,” the bank said.