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Chandigarh: ₹80 lakh from alleged CREST fund diversion used to buy land in Goa, says CBI chargesheet
According to the chargesheet, ₹80 lakh was used for purchasing property in Canacona, Goa, in the name of Vipam Consultancy, a company in which Srivastava’s wife, Anupam, holds 95% shares
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A part of the money allegedly diverted from the Chandigarh Research and Technology Promotion Society (CREST) was used to purchase agricultural/orchard land in Goa, the CBI has alleged in a supplementary chargesheet filed against the society’s former CEO Navneet Kumar Srivastava, his wife and a company controlled by her family.
According to the chargesheet, ₹80 lakh was used for purchasing property in Canacona, Goa, in the name of Vipam Consultancy Pvt Ltd, a company in which Srivastava’s wife, Anupam Srivastava, holds 95% of the shares. The agency has alleged that the amount was part of the ₹95 lakh transferred to Vipam Consultancy from CAPCO Fintech Services, a shell company which had received a substantial portion of the allegedly unauthorised CREST funds.
The funds to the consultancy were shifted through six transactions between November 2024 and February 2025, it was alleged.
144 unauthorised transactions from CREST account
The chargesheet says the company had no genuine business dealings with CREST corresponding to the money received.
The agency’s investigation found that around ₹18 crore was allegedly routed from one of CREST’s bank accounts to CAPCO Fintech Services through 96 transactions. The account had recorded 144 unauthorised debit transactions involving around ₹21 crore, according to the chargesheet.
Three CREST accounts together witnessed fraudulent debits of about ₹21 crore, against which approximately ₹14 crore was credited back. The investigating agency has calculated the net principal loss at around 7.5 crore.
The chargesheet stated that Srivastava, who served as CREST’s additional CEO before becoming its CEO, exercised administrative and financial control over the society’s bank accounts and was an authorised signatory.
Fake email, mobile details
The investigation has also alleged that CREST’s registered email and mobile details were altered using similar-looking email IDs and that forged applications bearing purported signatures of officials were submitted to change account particulars. According to the CBI, these changes helped facilitate and conceal the unauthorised transactions.
The chargesheet also points to a ₹5 lakh demand draft issued in Srivastava’s own name from the CAPCO account in November 2024. Although the draft was cancelled, the agency has highlighted that ₹5 lakh was transferred from CAPCO to Vipam Consultancy on the same day.
The CBI has accused Srivastava of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust by a public servant, forgery and falsification of accounts, criminal misconduct, obtaining undue advantage, causing disappearance of evidence and receiving stolen property/proceeds of crime.
His wife Anupam and Vipam Consultancy have also been chargesheeted for their alleged role in receiving and using the proceeds. The agency has alleged that Anupam, as the company’s majority shareholder and authorised signatory, facilitated the transactions and the subsequent purchase of the Goa property.
The chargesheet further alleges that ₹20 lakh was collected in cash through persons linked to co-accused and that electronic communications recovered during the investigation corroborate these transactions. Srivastava has also been accused of deleting WhatsApp communications with co-accused to cause disappearance of evidence.
The investigation, however, is not over. The CBI has said it will continue tracing the funds, identifying further beneficiaries and examining digital and forensic evidence. It has also indicated that additional proceedings may follow against then CREST accountant Sahil Kukkar and project director Sukhwinder Singh Abrol, against whom further evidence has emerged.
