Panchkula, June 30 (IANS) The CBI arrested two former bank officials, one each from IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, in connection with misappropriation of crores of rupees belonging to Haryana government departments, an official said on Tuesday.

Shamim Dar, then Area Head of IDFC First Bank, and Charanjeet Singh Randhawa, then Branch Manager of AU Small Finance Bank, Mohali Branch, misappropriated government funds through fraudulent transactions routed through bank accounts opened for this purpose, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said.

After their arrest, the two were produced before the Special CBI Judge in Panchkula for custody proceedings, the CBI said.

Dar and Randhawa were also involved in irregular investments of surplus funds in fixed deposits, the CBI said in a statement.

Investigation revealed that both accused, in their respective capacities as Bank officials, played incriminating roles in facilitating the opening of bank accounts and fraudulent transactions through which public funds were diverted, said the statement.

During the investigation, incriminating evidence against them was collected, the CBI said.

The fraud was perpetrated at the Sector 32 IDFC First Bank branch, Chandigarh, where funds to the tune of Rs 504 crore belonging to eight Haryana government departments were siphoned off through forged/non-existent Fixed Deposits/Debit notes and routed to shell entities, the CBI said.

So far, 17 accused have been chargesheeted by the CBI in this Haryana case, including six Bank officials of IDFC First Bank/AU Small Finance Bank, three public servants of the Haryana government, two companies, and six private persons.

The CBI had taken over the investigation from the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Haryana, on the request of the State government, said the CBI.

The probe agency has also taken over two other cases from the Chandigarh Union Territory, one pertaining to Chandigarh Smart City (CSCL)/Chandigarh Municipal Corporation and another about Chandigarh Renewal Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society (CREST) Chandigarh.

One chargesheet has also been filed by the CBI in each of these cases. The CBI has chargesheeted five bankers, one CSCL official and one private person in the CSCL case; and five bankers, two CREST officials, four private persons and two companies in the CREST case, said the statement.

–IANS

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