CHANDIGARH: Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Thursday arrested Nalini Malik, chief finance officer (CFO) of Chandigarh Smart City project, in connection with the Rs 116 crore fake fixed deposit receipt (FDR) scam linked to Chandigarh Municipal Corporation.Police took Malik into custody from her residence in Mohali. She was reported missing ever since her name surfaced in the case, which pertains to alleged embezzlement of govt funds through the creation of fake FDRs worth Rs 116 crore linked to IDFC First Bank.Police say Malik was arrested on the basis of evidence gathered during investigation and disclosures made by arrested suspects. More arrests are likely, said an officer.EOW registered the case on the basis of a complaint from Chandigarh Municipal Corporation officials. The investigating agency has informed a court that Ribhav Rishi, a former branch manager of IDFC First Bank, allegedly created shell companies in collusion with Malik and Sukhvinder Singh, project director of CREST (Chandigarh Renewable Energy & Science and Technology Promotion Society). Through these companies, fake investment documents were allegedly prepared and crores of rupees were embezzled.Rishi was posted at IDFC First Bank’s Sector-32 branch from 2023-2025. It is during this period that municipal accounts were opened at this branch and fake FDRs worth Rs 116 crore were prepared, say police. The role of a bank relationship manager is under suspicion, while the name of former bank official Seema Dhiman has been included in the FIR.Police have already arrested CREST’s project director Sukhvinder Singh and accountant Sahil Kukkar in this case. Malik’s arrest is considered a crucial step in the investigation.The alleged scam was uncovered when MC officials requested IDFC First Bank to encash FDs worth Rs 116 crore, which was stated to be linked to funds transferred during closure of Chandigarh Smart City limited. During the investigation, ‘suspicious transactions’ surfaced in bank statements, and the fixed deposit receipts that were shown in records did not exist in the bank’s official records at all, say police. Following this, MC filed a complaint with police.
