IDFC First Bank matter: Haryana CM says Anti-Corruption Bureau will conduct in-dept probe

A day after IDFC First Bank exposed a Rs 590-crore fraud involving Haryana government accounts, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Monday said the state's Anti-Corruption Bureau will conduct an in-depth probe and assured those found guilty will not be spared. Saini said the state government has also decided to form a high-level committee comprising of IAS officers which will also look into the matter and conduct probe. The opposition Congress on Monday raised the issue in the Assembly, with Chief Minister Saini announcing a probe. Saini assured the House that a probe has been ordered and the state's Anti-Corruption Bureau and the vigilance are investigating the matter and will conduct an in-depth investigation. Be it a bank or government employee, anyone who is found involved will not be spared, Saini told the House. Speaking to reporters later at the end of the day's proceedings in the Assembly, Saini said, ''We have handed over the matter to Anti-Corruption Bureau and a case has been registered''. The state government has also decided to form a high-level committee, which will comprise of IAS officers and look into the matter, he said. Saini stated that the matter came to light due to the alertness of the state government departments, following which the government immediately de-empanelled the bank. He said that the government acted proactively in detecting the issue. Responding to opposition attacking the government over the issue, Saini said various government departments deposit their money in the banks which are on the panel and this is not a new practice. This has been happening earlier as well. Even during the Congress tenure, departmental funds were kept in banks. Banks are empanelled from time to time, and new banks continue to be added, the CM said. In a regulatory filing made on Sunday, the IDFC First Bank said it has disclosed the matter to the banking regulator and also filed a police complaint. ''Prima facie, unauthorised and fraudulent activities have been carried out by certain employees at a particular branch in Chandigarh in a specific set of Haryana state government accounts and potentially involving other individuals/entities/counterparties,'' the IDFC First Bank filing said. The Haryana government de-empanelled IDFC First Bank for government business with immediate effect, the CM told the Assembly and referred to the government issuing instructions in this regard on February 18. Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Hooda raised the issue in the Haryana Assembly. In response, Saini said after discrepancies were detected, the government immediately decided to transfer the funds to another financial institution. He further said that a significant portion of the Haryana government's funds deposited with IDFC First Bank had been invested in fixed deposits (FDs). ''The government is taking this issue seriously, be it bank employee or any other employee, anyone who is involved, strict action will be taken,'' he said in the House. Bhupinder Hooda stated that the bank detected the irregularities and demanded the government should tell the House what action it has taken. CM Saini said much before the bank made the disclosure in regulatory filing made on Sunday, the government took the action days earlier and de-empanelled it. On February 18, the state government de-panelled the bank and directed that the entire amount, along with interest, be transferred to a nationalised bank. The money is completely safe. Every single rupee will be recovered, he said. ''When we found discrepancies, we sought statements from the departments involved and there was a clear mismatch... we are investigating the matter very seriously,'' CM assured the Assembly. The ACB is investigating it. Our government works in a transparent matter. It is not an issue which we will take lightly, he assured. At present, the bank estimated 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 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.