CBI Arrests Second IAS Official in Haryana Bank Fraud Case

New Delhi: Days after arresting the former Municipal Commissioner of Panchkula, the CBI has made another major arrest. Former Principal Education Secretary and senior IAS officer Pankaj Aggarwal has been arrested in a case related to the misappropriation of funds from Haryana government departments, officials said."CBI has arrested Pankaj Aggarwal, IAS, on Monday. He was then serving as Principal Secretary in the Department of School Education and the Department of Agriculture.The arrest is in connection with the misappropriation of government funds from the accounts of the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad (HSSPP) and the Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board (HSAMB), maintained with the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank in Chandigarh.

He will be produced before the court today," the CBI said in a statement on Tuesday.The CBI began its investigation at the request of the Haryana Government. "Investigation revealed that accounts of these departments were opened in violation of the extant guidelines of the Finance Department of the Government of Haryana, and funds were subsequently transferred in excess of prescribed limits. These accounts were opened during the tenure of Pankaj Aggarwal, the then Principal Secretary," CBI said."The investigation further revealed that fraudulent transactions in these accounts led to the misappropriation of funds, causing a net loss of Rs. 60.54 crore to the government. During the investigation, incriminating evidence against Pankaj Aggarwal was collected," the CBI said.The anti corruption probe agency had taken over the investigation from the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Haryana, at the request of the state government.The fraud involving these two departments pertains to the misappropriation of approximately Rs. 60.54 crore and forms part of a larger scam at the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank, in which funds amounting to Rs. 504 crore from eight Haryana government departments were allegedly siphoned off and routed through shell entities.So far, the CBI has chargesheeted 17 accused in the Haryana case, including six bank officials from IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, three Haryana government officials, two companies, and six private individuals.Last week, senior IAS officer R.K. Singh, who was arrested in connection with the alleged misappropriation of funds in the Municipal Corporation, Panchkula, was remanded to judicial custody after the expiry of his police remand.The CBI has also taken over two other cases from the Union Territory of Chandigarh—one pertaining to Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL)/Chandigarh Municipal Corporation and another related to CREST Chandigarh. The probe agency has already filed a chargesheet in each of these cases.In the CSCL case, the CBI has so far chargesheeted five bankers, one CSCL official, and one private individual. In the CREST case, it has chargesheeted five bankers, two CREST officials, four private individuals, and two companies. A senior IFoS officer has already been arrested in the CREST case.On June 6, the CBI conducted searches at six locations as part of its ongoing investigation into a large-scale misappropriation fraud involving IDFC First Bank and AU Finance Bank. The case relates to the alleged siphoning of government funds from eight departments of the Haryana Government and two departments of the Union Territory of Chandigarh— namely, the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh and CREST Chandigarh.Searches were conducted in Chandigarh, Panchkula, and Delhi-NCR, including at the residences of senior Haryana-cadre public servants and at the premises of M/s Vipam Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. and its director. The searches were conducted in connection with alleged irregularities and the receipt of proceeds of crime.The investigation has revealed evidence suggesting that certain public servants colluded with bank officials and facilitated the opening of accounts, transfer of funds, and their subsequent diversion.It is alleged that they received undue advantages in return for their facilitation and inaction.M/s Vipam Consultancy Pvt. Ltd., Noida, was found to have received proceeds of crime into its account, which were subsequently transferred to the personal account of its director. Documents, digital devices, property documents, and other relevant materials were seized during the searches.