IDFC First Bank 'fraud' case: ED freezes 90 bank accounts after searches in five cities

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has frozen 90 bank accounts following recent searches in the IDFC First Bank-linked money laundering case where Rs 590 crore of Haryana government funds are alleged to have been siphoned off. The federal probe agency claimed that the alleged fraud's modus operandi includes using multiple shell (dummy) companies and bogus billing for gold purchases. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches in the Chandigarh Tricity (Chandigarh, Mohali in Punjab and Panchkula in Haryana), Gurugram (Haryana) and Bengalauru (Karnataka) covering a total of 19 premises on March 11. It was found that the accused embezzled public money by routing and layering funds across multiple shell entities, the ED said in a statement.

Most of the funds have been channelled through the bank accounts of jewellers to create an illusion of gold purchase through bogus billing, it said. It identified a shell company involved in the case as Swastik Desh Projects Pvt Ltd, whose partners are Swati Singla and Abhishek Singla. The scam was perpetrated over the last year with assistance from former employees of the bank, including Ribhav Rishi, it said. The "proceeds of crime" were "dissipated" to the account of Rishi and his wife Divya Arora, as per the agency. "During searches, more than 90 bank accounts have been frozen, and incriminating material in the form of digital as well as documentary evidences have been seized," the ED said. The raids followed the registration of a case by the agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) taking cognisance of a Haryana State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau FIR. According to the Bureau, 11 accused have been arrested so far, including six bank employees, four private individuals, and a government official, as part of this investigation.