The Chandigarh Police Crime Branch on Saturday arrested the alleged key conspirator in a ₹590-crore fraud linked to IDFC First Bank that involved funds from several Haryana government departments, along with a separate ₹190-crore financial irregularity connected to the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation and the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST), officers aware of the development said.
The accused, hotelier and real-estate developer Vikram Wadhwa (52), had been evading arrest since the scam surfaced on February 22, 2026. He was arrested from a hideout in Kharar, Mohali district.
According to Haryana State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, around ₹590 crore was siphoned off from accounts belonging to at least eight Haryana government departments. The money was meant to be parked as fixed deposits at the IDFC First Bank branch in Sector 32, Chandigarh, but was allegedly diverted through 12 compromised accounts.
Investigators said the fraud involved a network of bank insiders and outside facilitators. Officials from government departments were allegedly persuaded to deposit public funds in the branch, after which the money was transferred or withdrawn without authorisation using forged debit memos and fabricated bank documents.
So far, the vigilance bureau has arrested 11 people in the case, including bank employees Ribhav Rishi and Abhay Kumar, and department superintendent Naresh Kumar Bhuwani. Rishi, who resigned from IDFC First Bank in June 2025, allegedly created several shell companies to route the siphoned funds through multiple accounts.
By HT correspondent Naina Mishra
