CBI Arrests Senior IAS Officer Pankaj Aggarwal In Rs 657 Crore IDFC First Bank Scam Investigation

The IDFC First Bank Scam investigation entered a critical phase on Tuesday after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested senior IAS officer Pankaj Aggarwal for allegedly facilitating the misappropriation of Rs 60.54 crore from accounts of the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojana Parishad and the Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board. The arrest is linked to a wider Rs 657 crore fraud involving Haryana government departments and the Chandigarh administration, making it one of the most significant public funds scam investigations currently underway in northern India.

According to the CBI, Aggarwal served as Principal Secretary in the Department of School Education and the Department of Agriculture in the Haryana government when the accounts were opened at the Chandigarh Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank . Investigators alleged that the accounts were opened in violation of Haryana government guidelines and that funds were subsequently transferred into them beyond prescribed limits.

The agency said fraudulent transactions involving the two departments resulted in a net loss of Rs 60.54 crore to the state exchequer. The alleged misappropriation forms part of the larger IDFC First Bank Scam , in which funds from eight Haryana government departments were allegedly siphoned off and routed through shell entities.

CBI officials stated that the total loss linked to the wider case stands at Rs 504 crore for the Haryana government and Rs 153 crore for the Chandigarh administration, taking the overall amount under investigation to Rs 657 crore. The central agency took over the probe from Haryana's State Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau following a request from the state government.

The CBI said it has collected incriminating evidence against Aggarwal and produced him before a special court on Tuesday. So far, the agency has chargesheeted 17 accused, including six bank officials from IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, three public servants, two companies and six private individuals.

The investigation has already led to the arrest of senior IAS officer R. K. Singh in a related Municipal Corporation Panchkula case. Separate CBI probes linked to Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL) and CREST Chandigarh are also continuing.