Chandigarh: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Chandigarh Police arrested realtor Vikram Wadhwa, 52, a resident of Sector 33, in connection with an alleged scam involving approximately Rs 116.84 crore belonging to Chandigarh Smart City funds. The arrest was made on Saturday. Police said that Wadhwa was also wanted by Haryana Police, as his name had figured in the Rs 590 crore IDFC First Bank scam being investigated there. The same day, UT EOW also obtained production warrants of three accused — Ribhav Rishi, Abhya Kumar and Seema Dhiman — and brought them from Ambala jail for interrogation in the case.After arresting Wadhwa, Chandigarh EOW produced him in a local court and sought seven-day police remand. The court, however, granted five-day remand for further interrogation. Police told the court that during his disclosure, Wadhwa stated he had colluded with former IDFC First Bank manager Ribhav Rishi to divert money amounting to crores deposited in govt accounts. According to the police, he revealed that these funds were siphoned off through shell companies and subsequently invested in real estate projects.Police said Wadhwa disclosed he had met Ribhav Rishi several years ago through Rakesh Kumar Rishi, who at the time, was a senior manager at Punjab National Bank in Sector 17. Rakesh Kumar Rishi’s son, Ribhav Rishi, later worked at IDFC First Bank, and the two came in contact during that period. Wadhwa told investigators that Ribhav informed him that he was responsible for the bank accounts of several govt departments of Chandigarh and Haryana, in which money amounting to crores was deposited. Police said Ribhav allegedly proposed that this money could be temporarily used for investment and that when required, entries would be made to return the funds to the respective accounts.Investigation further revealed that the accounts of govt departments were first transferred to the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank. After this, money from these accounts was allegedly routed to several private companies before being transferred to Wadhwa’s accounts. According to the police, companies such as Capco Fintech Services, RS Traders and Swastik Desh Projects formed part of this network through which the siphoned funds moved. Police also said that some of the diverted money went into the accounts of bank officer Ribhav Rishi and his wife before being invested in real estate.In his statement, Wadhwa told the police that over the last three to four years, he had invested in various residential and commercial projects. His real estate projects, he said, were located in Chandigarh, Mohali, Kharar and several other places. He revealed that the original documents of these properties were kept with his relatives across Punjab and Haryana. He also mentioned that the Income Tax department had raided his house some time ago.During investigation, EOW officials found that records of Chandigarh Smart City Limited mentioned 11 fixed deposit receipts (FDRs) worth about Rs 116.84 crore. However, they said no corresponding record of these FDRs existed in the bank’s system. According to the police, the FDRs were allegedly issued in March-April 2025 by then manager of the IDFC First Bank Sector 32 branch, Ribhav Rishi. An examination of bank statements revealed suspicious transactions amounting to Rs 8.22 crore, and police said verification for these transactions could not be found in MC records.Meanwhile, Wadhwa moved three applications in court through his counsel. In the first application, filed under Section 183(1) read with Section 183(5) of BNS, he sought to record that he had been made to sign various handwritten and typed papers, including black paper, while in custody. The second application requested that he be supplied with copies of the arrest memo, the FIR and the remand application. The third application sought a declaration that his arrest was illegal, violated procedure established by law, and was in contravention of Article 21 and Article 22 of the Constitution of India, read with Sections 36, 35, 47, 48 and 62 of the BNS.BoxTracing the money trail Wadhwa told police he met Ribhav years ago through Rakesh Kumar Rishi, then PNB senior manager Ribhav allegedly said he handled govt department accounts of Chandigarh and Haryana Probe found govt accounts were shifted to IDFC First Bank Sector-32, from where funds were routed to private firms and then to Wadhwa Some siphoned money allegedly moved into accounts of Ribhav Rishi and his wife before being invested in real estate Wadhwa stated he invested in residential and commercial projects in Chandigarh, Mohali, Kharar and other places over the past 3–4 years He said original property documents were kept with relatives in Punjab and Haryana; IT Dept had earlier raided his house In Smart City records, 11 FDRs worth Rs 116.84 crore were shown, but no matching record existed in the bank’s system These FDRs were allegedly issued in March–April 2025 by then IDFC First Bank Sector 32 manager Ribhav Rishi Bank statement checks revealed Rs 8.22 crore in suspicious transactions, not traceable in MC recordsMSID:: 129576201 413 |
