Chandigarh, March 13 (IANS) The ED conducted searches at 19 premises across Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, Gurgaon and Bangalore in connection with the IDFC First Bank case involving embezzlement of public funds amounting to Rs 597 crore, an official said on Friday.

During the searches, more than 90 bank accounts have been frozen, and incriminating material in the form of digital as well as documentary evidence has been seized, an ED official said in a statement.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Chandigarh Zonal Office, said that the money was misappropriated from accounts of the Haryana Government, Chandigarh Municipal Corporation and other government agencies.

The ED initiated an investigation under PMLA, 2002, based on an FIR registered by the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Panchkula, in February 2026 in relation to a mismatch of balances in the bank account of the Development and Panchayat Department, Haryana, held with IDFC Bank and AU Small Finance Bank.

The amount was to be kept as a fixed deposit with the bank; however, the accused persons diverted these government funds without authorisation, the ED said.

The search operations have covered former bank employees, namely Ribhav Rishi and Abhay Kumar, their family members, and beneficiary shell entities, namely M/s. Swastik Desh Projects, M/s. Capco Fintech Services and Mis. Maa Vaibhav Laxmi Interiors, M/s. SRR Planning Gurus Private Limited, a jewellers namely Sawan Jewellers and real estate developers like Vikram Wadhwa and his business entities.

Searches have revealed that the public funds embezzled by the accused persons have been routed and layered across multiple shell entities.

The ED said the accused’s modus operandi involved the incorporation of a shell entity, Swastik Desh Projects, and diverting government funds to this account initially.

The partners of the Swastik Desh are Swati Singla and Abhishek Singla. Thereafter, a majority of the funds have been channelised through bank accounts of jewellers to create an illusion of gold purchase through bogus billing, the ED said.

The scam was perpetuated over the last year, approximately, with the assistance of the ex-bank employees, said the ED.

Ribhav Rishi, who is one of the ex-bank employees of IDFC First bank had utilised the various shell companies for siphoning off the bank funds, it said.

He resigned from IDFC First Bank in June 2025. Some of the Proceeds of Crime were even dissipated to the bank accounts of Ribhav Rishi and Divya Arora, the wife of Ribhav Rishi, the ED said.

Besides, a significant amount has also been siphoned off by one Vikram Wadhwa, who is a hotelier and real estate developer running various projects at Mohali, the ED said.

Wadhwa, who has directly received the Proceeds of Crime in his bank account, has subsequently transferred the funds to the various real estate concerns like Prisma Residency LLP, Kinspire Realty LLP and Martell Buildwell LLP.

All these entities were covered in the search, and documents related to real estate investment were also seized, it said.

It was found that he had utilised the services of Sawan Jewellers, Capco Fintech Services (Bhupinder Singh) and Klaita Jewellers and shell entities like Swastik Desh projects for siphoning off the bank funds, the ED said.

Wadhwa could not be located during the search operations, and he has been presently absconding since the fraud came to the limelight, it said.

Investigations also revealed that substantial funds received by the entity Chandigarh Mega Store were also layered and siphoned off by the accused persons, said the ED statement.

One of the partners of the store – Mohit Goyal – was also covered during the search, and evidence was recovered related to siphoning off the funds, the ED said.

The searches were conducted at other entities like Maa Vaibhav Laxmi Interiors and SRR Planning Gurus, and it was found that these entities had directly received the funds from the government accounts and subsequently layered and dissipated to other shell entities, which are under investigation, the ED said.

–IANS

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