Our Bureau
Chandigarh
IDFC FIRST Bank has disclosed a massive ₹590 crore fraud at its Chandigarh branch, primarily involving accounts of various Haryana Government departments. The scam surfaced when a government department requested account closure and fund transfer, revealing stark discrepancies between claimed amounts and actual balances. Multiple Haryana entities reported similar issues, prompting immediate action from the bank.
In response, the bank suspended four suspected officials and filed complaints with police authorities. It dispatched recall requests to beneficiary banks to recover funds and appointed KPMG for an independent forensic audit, as announced under SEBI Regulation 30. Statutory auditors and regulators were promptly informed, with the preliminary review confirming the fraud is isolated to specific government-linked accounts at the branch, sparing other customers.
The fallout hit hard, with IDFC First Bank shares crashing to the lower circuit amid investor panic over the scandal.
This incident underscores vulnerabilities in handling government accounts, testing the bank’s recovery and compliance efforts. As forensic probes deepen, questions loom over internal controls and potential broader implications for public sector banking ties.
