Within 24 hours after a Rs 590 crore fraud was detected at the Chandigarh branch of IDFC First Bank, the Haryana government has recovered nearly Rs 556 crore, revealed Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini in the state assembly on Tuesday.
"Nearly Rs 556 crore, including nearly Rs 22 crore in interest, came back within 24 hours," he said in the assembly.
The CM said the government will ensure that any bank employee, private individual or even a government employee involved in the fraud will not be spared.
The Rs 590 crore fraud linked to accounts of Haryana government entities was reported by IDFC First Bank in a SEBI regulatory filing on Sunday.
This comes less than 24 hours after CM Saini promised the opposition that "every paisa will be returned" and directed the ACB to investigate the fraud.
The fraud came to light when one of the Haryana government departments sought to close its account and transfer money to another lender. However, the figures recorded in the official statements and the actual balances held in the bank accounts were different.
"In the process, certain discrepancies were observed in the amount mentioned vis-a-vis the balance in the account," read a statement in the bank's filing.
IDFC First Bank revealed in a regulatory filing that certain employees were at fault. Four officials suspected of involvement have been suspended with this regard, according to the lender.
"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 filing said.
