CBI arrests senior Haryana IAS officer Pankaj Aggarwal in IDFC FIRST Bank fraud case

Gurugram: In connection with the alleged misappropriation of government funds linked to the multi-crore IDFC FIRST Bank fraud case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested senior Haryana-cadre IAS officer Pankaj Aggarwal, a 2000-batch officer, officials said on Tuesday.

Aggarwal is the second IAS officer to be arrested in the case after the recent arrest of Ram Kumar Singh, a 2012-batch officer. Aggarwal was taken into custody on Monday and is expected to be presented before a court, as reported by The Print.

According to the CBI, the investigation are regarding the alleged irregularities in the opening and operation of bank accounts belonging to the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad (HSSPP) and the Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board (HSAMB) at an IDFC FIRST Bank branch in Chandigarh.

The agency alleged that the accounts were opened during Aggarwal's tenure as Principal Secretary of the concerned departments. It also claimed that these transactions carried out through them resulted in a loss of ₹60.54 crore to the state exchequer.

In a statement, the CBI said its probe had found that departmental funds were transferred to the accounts in excess of prescribed limits. These transfers violated the existing government financial guidelines and the agency alleged that the accounts were later used for fraudulent transactions leading to the diversion of public funds.

The amount linked to the two departments forms part of a much larger alleged fraud involving several government bodies in Haryana. Investigators claim hundreds of crores of rupees were siphoned from accounts maintained by multiple state departments. The amount was routed through shell companies using forged or fictitious fixed deposit instruments.

The Enforcement Directorate has estimated the total fraud at ₹645 crore, while the CBI has placed the figure at ₹657 crore.

The scam first came to light earlier this year after discrepancies were reportedly detected in a government department's bank account during an attempt to close it. Subsequent investigations uncovered a wider pattern of alleged unauthorised transactions involving public funds.

The CBI has so far filed chargesheets against 17 accused in the Haryana-related cases, including bank officials, government employees, private individuals and corporate entities. Chargesheets against the IAS officers are yet to be filed.

Investigators have identified former IDFC FIRST Bank branch manager Ribhav Rishi and AU Small Finance Bank relationship manager Abhay Kumar as key accused in the alleged fraud. They are accused of inducing government departments to deposit funds by offering unusually high interest rates and then diverting the money through shell companies instead of creating legitimate fixed deposits.

IDFC FIRST Bank has previously acknowledged unauthorised transactions involving certain employees and returned funds, including interest, to the Haryana government after the irregularities were detected.

During his career, Aggarwal served as Deputy Commissioner of Kurukshetra and Sonepat, Transport Commissioner, Labour Commissioner and Chief Electoral Officer of Haryana under the state administration. He was also given the posts of Principal Secretary in the School Education and Agriculture departments. These two departments are at the centre of the allegations against him.

The Haryana government has transferred him from key administrative assignments and posted him to the Architecture Department.