Panchkula: Luxury SUVs, a premium motorcycle and an appetite for excess now lie at the heart of the Rs 147-crore fixed deposit (FD) fraud involving the Panchkula municipal corporation, with investigators claiming Kotak Mahindra Bank’s deputy vice-president used a part of Rs 30-35 crore of embezzled public money to finance his high-end lifestyle.Prime accused Pushpender Singh, who was posted as deputy vice president at Kotak Mahindra Bank’s Sector 11 branch in Panchkula at the time of the fraud, is alleged to have splurged his share of the misappropriated funds on luxury vehicles, investigators told the court.According to the Haryana Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Pushpender received a share of Rs 30-35 crore from the misappropriated amount, which he allegedly used to buy three vehicles — a Wrangler Rubicon, a Mercedes GLS and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The vehicles are currently parked in Delhi.The ACB said it is in the process of recovering the vehicles from Delhi based on information provided by the accused. During a personal search, investigators recovered one Xiaomi mobile phone from Pushpender; the device was found unlocked.The agency further informed the court that the accused had used three mobile phones, along with a laptop, printer and various stamps (seals), to fabricate fraudulent fixed deposits and prepare related documents. These electronic devices and seals are believed to be stored in Narkanda, Himachal Pradesh, and are yet to be recovered based on the indications given by the accused. Pushpender will also be questioned to trace the whereabouts of his co-accused.“Intensive questioning of the accused is essential to uncover other similar fraudulent activities and prevent further misuse of public funds. It is also necessary to trace bank documents, personal diaries and movable assets acquired using the proceeds of the crime. Given the multilayered nature of this large-scale financial fraud involving the public exchequer, every transaction must be examined,” the ACB submitted before the court.The agency will also conduct a “detailed and confrontational interrogation” of both accused — Pushpender and Vikas Kaushik, former senior accounts officer of the MC — by seating them face to face, as both are blaming each other for preparing forged documents and seals.Meanwhile, Pushpender (41), a resident of Sector 2, Panchkula, who surrendered before the ACB on Wednesday, was formally arrested under Section 47 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). A Panchkula court on Thursday sent him to five days’ ACB remand, though the agency had sought seven days.
