How 14% interest trap led to diversion of Haryana corporation’s Rs 50 crore

The Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) probe into the multi-crore IDFC First Bank scam has found that bank officials allegedly offered an unusually high annual interest rate of 14 per cent to induce Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL) to deposit Rs 50 crore with the branch in 2025. Investigators say this deposit later facilitated the alleged misappropriation of crores of rupees.

In its chargesheet submitted to a Panchkula court recently, the CBI has described Ribhav Rishi, the branch manager of IDFC First Bank’s Sector 32 branch in Chandigarh from April 2023 to August 2025, as the “principal architect and mastermind of the fraud”. The investigation allegedly found that Rishi prepared an offer letter promising a higher interest rate on a specific HPGCL account for the November 11, 2024, to March 28, 2025, period. The letter was purportedly signed by a bank official, Abhay Kumar. Rishi and Kumar have since been arrested.

According to the chargesheet, call records show that the then HPGCL managing director and Chief Accounts Officer Bahadur Gosain spoke twice on November 11, 2024. Gosain recorded on file, “As directed, please transfer the amount of Rs 50 crore to IDFC First Bank by partial premature withdrawal of funds from FD with IndusInd Bank.”

During the investigation, Gosain allegedly told the CBI that the words “as directed” referred to instructions from the then managing director. He said the matter was allegedly discussed with HPGCL Finance Director Amit Dewan, after which it was decided to arrange Rs 50 crore by prematurely closing a fixed deposit at IndusInd Bank. The note was then marked to a senior accounts officer.

The CBI further claimed that following Rishi’s letter and the MD’s directions, Accounts Officer Saurabh Saini moved a note on November 11, 2024. The note stated that IDFC First Bank had approached the HPGCL MD, seeking deployment of funds in a savings account and had offered an interest rate of 14 per cent per annum till March 28, 2025, for the HPGCL Dry Fly Ash Fund savings account, which had already been opened. The note also recommended investing Rs 50 crore by prematurely withdrawing the same amount from a fixed deposit of Rs 108.47 crore lying with IndusInd Bank.

Finance department rules violated

Accordingly, Rs 50 crore was transferred on November 11, 2024. The investigation allegedly found that Dewan processed the proposal for opening the bank account “in violation of finance department guidelines, as no approval of the Internal Finance and Commercial Cell (IFCC) was obtained and the account was opened in a non-empanelled bank”.

The CBI pointed out that although IDFC First Bank was later empanelled, the offer of a 14 per cent interest rate on a specific savings account for a limited period was accepted without any due diligence. The agency said the bank’s official interest rate was nowhere close to 14 per cent. It also noted that there was no urgency on record to justify the premature closure of the IndusInd Bank fixed deposit to transfer funds to IDFC First Bank.

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When interest was later credited to the account, the senior accounts officer noticed that the amount was lower than what was promised. She emailed IDFC First Bank seeking clarification. On January 24, 2025, Kumar replied that the difference had not been credited due to an internal issue and assured that the balance amount would be paid, the CBI said. The differential interest was later credited through demand drafts.

Money transferred to different accounts

The CBI investigation further revealed that on March 27, 2025, a departmental note-sheet recorded that a fixed deposit of Rs 159.19 crore under the Depreciation Reserve Fund Investment Account would mature the next day, making the amount available for reinvestment.

On March 28, 2025, Rs 50 crore was transferred to HPGCL’s savings bank account at IDFC First Bank’s Sector 32 branch. HPGCL also wrote to the branch requesting that the amount be converted into a one-year fixed deposit carrying an interest rate of 8.9 per cent per annum.

On March 29, 2025, Rs 51.55 crore was transferred from the account to HPGCL’s HDFC Bank account in Sector 6, Panchkula.

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The CBI said the senior accounts officer received the bank statement for June 2025 on her official email on July 6, 2025. The statement showed multiple unauthorised debit transactions made through cheques that HPGCL had never issued.

The investigation also found that Rs 50 crore was transferred through demand drafts to the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (Rs 37.78 crore) and Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (Rs 12.21 crore), both of which had no connection with HPGCL.

The agency further stated that on February 20, 2026, the senior accounts officer wrote to the branch manager of IDFC First Bank, Sector 32 branch, seeking confirmation of the Rs 50 crore fixed deposit held in HPGCL’s name. However, the bank did not provide the requested confirmation, the CBI said.

The investigation also found that the fixed deposit receipt related to the Rs 50 crore deposit was forged and did not exist in the records or systems of IDFC First Bank. Investigators said Kumar had allegedly drafted the forged fixed deposit receipt before it was printed on the bank’s official stationery.

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HPGCL MD was unaware: CBI

According to the CBI, IDFC First Bank later informed investigators that the 14 per cent interest rate in the offer letter was not the bank’s official rate. The investigating agency alleged that Rishi and Kumar, in conspiracy with others, created the offer letter by falsely projecting a higher interest rate. The letter was accepted by HPGCL officials without proper verification, making the transaction appear legitimate on paper, said the CBI.

The central agency said that despite the seriousness of the fraud, the matter was handled only by Dewan and was allegedly not brought to the then HPGCL MD’s notice.

According to the CBI, the investigation established that the accused bank officials, in conspiracy with Dewan, opened a new savings bank account and transferred the funds into it to ensure that the fraudulent transactions did not come to light. For this purpose, an existing fixed deposit with IndusInd Bank was prematurely closed. The money was subsequently diverted to other bank accounts. To conceal the fraud, fake and forged fixed deposit receipts and bank account statements were prepared and placed on record, the CBI said.

So far, the CBI has filed three chargesheets in connection with the multi-crore bank fraud. Fifteen accused, including six officials of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank each and three Haryana government officials, have been chargesheeted.