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Wadhwa’s ₹70-crore properties identified, confiscation likely: Chandigarh Police
According to the probe so far, Wadhwa stated that he opened bank accounts for himself and his family with the IDFC First Bank on the advice of co-accused Ribhav Rishi
Properties worth around ₹70 crore belonging to real estate developer Vikram Wadhwa, arrested in connection with a case involving diversion of government funds, have been identified, police said. Officials said around seven immovable properties connected to Wadhwa have been traced during the ongoing search. These include residential and commercial assets in the tricity region, which investigators suspect were acquired using proceeds of the alleged fraud.
Officials added that financial experts have been roped in to analyse bank account statements and trace the money trail. “So far, we have identified fixed assets in Wadhwa’s name and linked entities. These can be attached or confiscated for recovery of the defrauded amount, subject to legal proceedings,” an officer said.
The Chandigarh Police Crime Branch had arrested 52-year-old Vikram Wadhwa on Saturday, obtaining a five-day remand to further their investigation. Wadhwa is the key conspirator in a ₹590-crore fraud involving Haryana government departments and ₹190-crore financial irregularities linked to the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) and the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society (CREST).
According to the probe so far, Wadhwa stated that he opened bank accounts for himself and his family with the IDFC First Bank on the advice of co-accused Ribhav Rishi, who claimed that several government departments in Chandigarh and Haryana maintained accounts with the bank that held crores of rupees and that he personally monitored these accounts.
Ribhav allegedly proposed that he could arrange large sums of money from these government accounts for investment in real estate projects without charging interest. Wadhwa claimed that Ribhav suggested routing the funds through several companies controlled by him, including Capco Fintech Services, RS Traders and Swastik Desh Projects.
Wadhwa further claimed that the funds from government departments would first be transferred to the accounts of these companies and later moved to his accounts, which he would use to invest in real estate ventures.
Wadhwa has also disclosed the names of several government officials during questioning, investigators said.
