Chandigarh, March 14: A prominent businessman, Vikram Wadhwa, has been arrested by the Chandigarh Police Economic Offences Wing for his alleged involvement in a massive financial fraud at IDFC First Bank. The scam involves the misappropriation of over Rs 200 crore belonging to the Municipal Corporation and CREST.
The investigation revealed that the Municipal Corporation discovered the discrepancy when it tried to access over Rs 116 crore in Fixed Deposits. These assets had been transferred to the civic body following the dissolution of Chandigarh Smart City Limited last year. Bank officials later asserted that the records for these FDRs were non-existent in their digital infrastructure.
Wadhwa is suspected of having close ties with bank employees who allegedly facilitated the diversion of public money. Detectives asserted that the funds were funneled through multiple channels, including real estate developers and jewelry firms. The Enforcement Directorate had also recently searched properties linked to the businessman.
“The police are working to establish the complete money trail and identify all beneficiaries of the diverted funds,” an official source declared.
The scam appears to have broader implications, as Wadhwa was already wanted by the Haryana Police for a similar fraud exceeding Rs 590 crore. Internal inquiries have also pointed toward an outsourced accountant who acted as the custodian of the documents and has been missing for an extended period.
With Wadhwa now in custody, authorities maintained that the questioning would likely lead to further revelations regarding how the fake documents were generated and how the large sums were successfully moved out of the banking system.
