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Chandigarh: Network of benami properties controlled by former Kotak employee being probed by IT department
Pushpender set up a shell company, Chaudhary and Sethi Legal Advisors Private Limited, in 2020 in the names of his sister Guneet Sethi and his wife Preeti Thakur which was allegedly used to route illicit funds linked to politicians and bureaucrats as well as money fraudulently diverted from the bank - Income tax officials.
Income tax authorities are examining a network of benami properties allegedly controlled by former Kotak Mahindra Bank deputy vice president, Pushpender Singh, an accused in the ₹150 crore banking fraud involving the liquidation of fixed deposits of Panchkula municipal corporation. These properties are located in upscale sectors of Panchkula, including multiple houses in Sector 2 and Mansa Devi Complex. Income tax officials estimate the total value of these properties to be approximately ₹130 crore.
The banking fraud, according to the Haryana anti-corruption bureau (ACB) officials, was perpetrated with alleged use of forged documents and fictitious bank accounts. The ACB had on March 24 registered a first information report and subsequently arrested Pushpender after he surrendered on April 9. The court had on April 28 sent the former Kotak banker on 14-day judicial custody and he will be produced before the court on May 12 through video conferencing.
Income tax authorities who searched Pushpender’s Panchkula premises in January 2026, have issued a notice under section 19 of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions (PBPT) Act to Pushpender, his parents and his wife, Preeti Thakur. Income tax officials said that under Section 19 of the Act, the authorities can invoke powers similar to those of a civil court, including summoning individuals, examining them on oath, and seeking documents and financial records as part of the probe. “Pushpender’s father, a retired Haryana police ASI, had received the summons while notices for him were affixed on his property,’’ officials said.
As per the investigation done by the income tax department, Pushpender got employed with Kotak Mahindra bank in 2019 despite having no background in banking or finance. Before joining the bank, he was working as a direct to home (DTH) installation worker.
‘Asset accumulation started after 2019’
Income tax officials said that Pushpender started accumulating a huge number of assets and purchased three luxury cars costing nearly ₹2 crores in 2019. “He then got involved with the loan recovery division of Kotak Mahindra bank. During this time, he developed extensive contacts with senior police and civil officials and used these contacts to orchestrate false FIRs to coerce individuals into vacating properties,’’ said an official.
Officials said Pushpender gradually leveraged his contacts with real estate developers and local property dealers, allegedly managing illicit funds for bureaucrats and politicians while engaging in fraudulent diversion of bank funds.
“He channelised fraudulently diverted money into real estate projects at a high interest rate of 5% per month. His dealings include transactions with prominent builders such as Sunny Garg. Both Garg and Pushpender were raided in January 2026,’’ income tax officials said.
‘Benami properties held using funds from bank, bureaucrats, politicians’
Income tax officials said Pushpender is holding a large number of benami properties allegedly using the funds defrauded from bank and received from bureaucrats and politicians. “Investigations have revealed seven properties in sector 2 Panchkula and one in sector 6 of Mansa Devi Complex costing about ₹130 crore which he holds,’’ officials said.
Income Tax officials said Pushpender also set up a shell company, Chaudhary and Sethi Legal Advisors Private Limited, in 2020 in the names of his sister Guneet Sethi and his wife Preeti Thakur which was allegedly used to route illicit funds linked to politicians and bureaucrats as well as money fraudulently diverted from the bank.
In a development preceding his April 8 surrender to the ACB regarding the misappropriation of Panchkula MC funds, Pushpender came under the income tax department’s radar for allegedly facilitating suspicious loans worth ₹70 crore to Chandigarh-based businessman, Sunny Garg.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) during its money laundering investigation, found a close criminal nexus between officials of Panchkula MC, the bank, and private persons who conspired to siphon government funds.
The Haryana government ordered the de-empanelment of Kotak Mahindra Bank for conducting government business on April 8. Referring to the alleged misappropriation, Kotak Mahindra Bank in a March 27 communication to National Stock Exchange (NSE) said that following instructions from the municipal corporation of Panchkula, the bank is examining the matter. “The bank has informed and is cooperating fully with the municipal corporation, government authorities and law enforcement agencies in this process,’’ it said.
In an April 10 email to Panchkula CJM and ACB, Sunny Garg claimed that Pushpender extended him an unsecured loan of about ₹70 crore, routed through the accounts of Swati Tomar and Rajat Dahra but he was unaware of the source of funds.
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As per the PBPT Act, benami property means a property that is the subject matter of a benami transaction and includes the proceeds from such property.
A benami property is bought in someone else’s name, but paid for by another person and held for the benefit of the actual payer. It also covers properties acquired in fictitious names, situations where the recorded owner doesn’t know about it or denies ownership and instances where the person who paid for it is untraceable or fictitious.
