A month after a ₹590-crore fraud involving Haryana government funds surfaced at IDFC First Bank’s Chandigarh branch, the state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau (ACB) has registered an FIR over discrepancies in fixed deposits worth ₹145 crore in the Panchkula Municipal Corporation (MC) accounts maintained with Kotak Mahindra Bank.
The ACB also arrested the bank’s relationship manager, Dileep Kumar Raghav, who allegedly sent false reports to the MC regarding the FDs in connivance with the key accused.
The FIR, lodged on directions of the Haryana chief secretary’s office, relates to alleged irregularities in MC accounts at the bank’s Sector 11 branch. Inspector Rakesh Kumar of the vigilance department is the complainant.
The case has been registered against employees of Kotak Mahindra Bank and other unknown persons under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The development comes weeks after the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation discovered similar financial irregularities in the accounts of the now-defunct Chandigarh Smart City Limited at IDFC First Bank, during a review of investments triggered by the Haryana case.
FD mismatches surface during verification
{{/usCountry}}FD mismatches surface during verification
{{/usCountry}}According to the FIR, 16 fixed deposits worth ₹145 crore, with a maturity value of around ₹158 crore, were held in the Panchkula MC accounts at Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Of these, 11 FDs worth ₹59.57 crore matured on February 16, 2026. However, when officials initiated verification, inconsistencies emerged in bank statements dated February 22 and March 16, which matched neither each other nor the MC record.
The balance reflected in March was ₹2.17 crore, significantly lower than the expected ₹50.07 crore. The bank later reported a balance of ₹12.85 crore as of March 18, while also stating that no active term deposits existed.
During reconciliation, two additional bank accounts that were not reflected in MC’s official records were identified.
The mismatch between fixed deposit data, bank statements and account balances, along with the existence of unrecorded accounts, prompted the registration of the FIR and a detailed examination of records.
MC has also constituted a committee to thoroughly examine and reconcile all FD receipts and related bank accounts.
Bank initiates reconciliation
A spokesperson for Kotak Mahindra Bank said reconciliation was initiated as per MC instructions, adding that account opening procedures, KYC documentation and authorised signatories were in order, and that transactions were conducted in compliance with banking norms.
The bank said a significant portion of discrepancies had already been reconciled. It had also filed a complaint with the Panchkula police and was cooperating with authorities, the spokesperson added.
Police officials said further investigation was underway to determine whether fraud or procedural lapses led to the discrepancies and to fix accountability.
Reacting to the revelations, leader of the Opposition in the Haryana assembly Bhupinder Singh Hooda criticised the state government for repeated financial scams and called for a high-level, impartial investigation.