A CBI court on Wednesday denied regular bail to businessman Vikram Wadhwa, accused of being a major beneficiary of the alleged diversion of around ₹75 crore in government funds from the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST).
Special judge Bhawna Jain dismissed Wadhwa’s bail application on October 28, observing that the case involved a large scale economic offence and an alleged conspiracy to siphon off public money through multiple bank accounts and shell entities.
According to the CBI, around ₹21.59 crore was transferred to Wadhwa’s personal bank account from Capco Fintech Services between July 2024 and May 2025. Another ₹6 crore was allegedly transferred to his account through Swastik Desh Projects, while ₹75 lakh was directly transferred from CREST’s account in two transactions.
The agency also alleged that cash amounting to around ₹4.57 crore was delivered to Wadhwa on multiple occasions. The court noted that the CBI had cited banking records and the statement of a witness in support of its allegations.
The prosecution further alleged that ₹24.13 crore was credited to Wadhwa’s account by Divya Arora, wife of co-accused and former IDFC First Bank branch manager Ribhav Rishi, between February and October 2025. Wadhwa allegedly transferred ₹6.53 crore back to her account during the same period.
{{/usCountry}}The prosecution further alleged that ₹24.13 crore was credited to Wadhwa’s account by Divya Arora, wife of co-accused and former IDFC First Bank branch manager Ribhav Rishi, between February and October 2025. Wadhwa allegedly transferred ₹6.53 crore back to her account during the same period.
{{/usCountry}}Opposing the bail plea, the CBI argued that the transactions indicated Wadhwa’s alleged role in routing and layering funds diverted from CREST. It also said further investigation was underway to trace the money trail, identify other beneficiaries and establish the end use of the diverted funds.
Wadhwa’s counsel argued that he was a private businessman dealing in real estate and had no knowledge of the alleged fraud. The defence maintained that he had received funds as part of financial dealings and that the case was primarily based on banking records. It also cited the bail granted to co-accused Amit Dewan and argued that Wadhwa had been in custody since March 19.
Rejecting the arguments, the court held that the allegations against Wadhwa differed from those against Dewan. It also observed that the defence’s claims regarding bona fide financial dealings and lack of knowledge would have to be examined during the trial.
The case was initially registered by Chandigarh Police in March this year and subsequently transferred to the CBI, which registered its own FIR in May. The CBI filed its first chargesheet in June and a supplementary chargesheet in September, taking the total number of accused to 16. Further investigation remains underway.