Four accused have been arrested in relation to the IDFC First Bank fraud, which was allegedly masterminded by two former bank employees who used their positions to facilitate the crime.
Ribhav Rishi, who served as the head of the bank's Sector 32 branch until six months ago, and Abhay Kumar, a former relationship manager who resigned in August last year, are identified as the primary architects, as per media reports.
Their intimate knowledge of the bank's internal systems allowed them to orchestrate the irregularities, which were primarily concentrated at the bank's Chandigarh branch.
The execution relied on a strategic collusion between these former employees and a private entity. The funds were siphoned into a firm called the Swastik Desh Project, which was owned by siblings Swati and Abhishek Singla.
ACB director general A S Chawla told the media that the firm's main owner is Swati Singla, who holds 75% shares in it, while her brother Abhishek Singla holds the remaining 25%.
The personal connection was a key component of the scheme, as Swati Singla is the wife of the mastermind Abhay Kumar. This link allowed the group to move massive sums of money into a private account under their control.
The scale of the theft was massive, with approximately Rs 300 crore being transferred directly to the Swastik Desh Project's bank account. Reports cite officials as saying that the execution involved "collusion at the middle and lower levels" of the bank to bypass standard protocols.
The fraud was ultimately uncovered after a committee identified significant "mismatches" and procedural lapses in government-held accounts, leading to charges of forgery, criminal breach of trust, and a total estimated fraud value of Rs 590 crore.
Haryana's State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau these four people behind the Rs 590-crore IDFC First Bank fraud on Tuesday, according to reports.
Earlier, the ACB registered an FIR in connection with the fraud, while the state government constituted a committee to probe it.
(With inputs from PTI)
ALSO READ: Haryana Authorities Nab Four People In Rs 590-Crore IDFC First Bank case
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