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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has conducted searches at multiple locations in Chandigarh and Ludhiana in connection with the case involving misappropriation of funds from IDFC First Bank accounts of Chandigarh Smart City Ltd. (CSCL) and the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh.
As per the official release, the searches were conducted at five locations, including residential premises, business establishments of suspected beneficiaries of the defrauded funds belonging to the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh and Chandigarh Smart City Limited, public servant Anubhav Mishra of CSCL and private entities connected with the investigation. During the searches, various incriminating documents and articles were recovered and seized. These include digital evidence like storage drives, digital signatures, property-related documents, financial records, multiple electronic devices and other documents relevant to the investigation. The seized documents and electronic records are being examined and analysed as part of the ongoing investigation. It may be recalled that the CBI had taken over the investigation from the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Haryana, at the request of the State Government. The fraud relating to HSPCB forms part of a larger banking fraud at the Sector-32 Branch of IDFC First Bank, Chandigarh, wherein government funds amounting to approximately Rs 504 crore belonging to eight departments of the Government of Haryana were allegedly siphoned off through forged/non-existent Fixed Deposits and fraudulent debit transactions and subsequently routed through shell entities. So far, the CBI has filed chargesheets against 17 accused in the Haryana case, including six bank officials of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, three public servants of the Government of Haryana, two companies and six private individuals, the release stated. The CBI has also taken over two related cases from the Union Territory of Chandigarh-one pertaining to Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL)/Municipal Corporation Chandigarh and another relating to Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society (CREST). Chargesheets have already been filed in both cases. In the CSCL case, the CBI has chargesheeted five bankers, one CSCL official and one private individual. In the CREST case, chargesheets have been filed against five bankers, two CREST officials, four private individuals and two companies. "The CBI remains committed to bringing all those responsible to justice and ensuring that the complete trail of misappropriated public funds is identified and the proceeds of crime are effectively traced," the release said. (ANI)
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