Chandigarh: ₹590cr fraud case main accused arrested
What's the story
The Chandigarh Police Crime Branch has arrested 52-year-old Vikram Wadhwa, the main accused in a ₹590 crore fraud case. The case involves Haryana government departments and ₹190 crore financial irregularities linked to the Union Territory Municipal Corporation (MC) and CREST. Wadhwa, a well-known hotelier and real estate developer, was hiding in Kharar, Mohali, before his arrest by Inspector Satwinder Singh's team, according to Hindustan Times.
Background
Wadhwa's journey from caretaker to hotelier
Wadhwa, a Malout native, had shifted to Chandigarh in the 1990s as a guest house caretaker on a ₹1,500 salary. He later built a real estate empire. The police will present him in court for remand to trace the money trail involving over 2,400 transactions. Earlier in the investigation, Chandigarh Police had recovered a Range Rover allegedly belonging to Wadhwa from Kansal.
Fraud details
₹590 crore embezzlement across multiple Haryana government departments
The Haryana State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has found ₹590 crore was embezzled from at least eight departments. The funds were meant to be fixed deposits at IDFC First Bank's Chandigarh branch, but were diverted through 12 compromised accounts. Department officials were influenced to move public funds into the bank, where money was diverted using forged documents.
Investigation progress
Scam leads to multiple arrests and layered siphoning
The scam has already led to 11 arrests, including bank employees Ribhav Rishi and Abhay Kumar. Rishi allegedly used shell firms to siphon off government funds into his and his wife's accounts. Wadhwa is believed to have layered the siphoned money through Swastik Desh Projects Pvt Ltd, with nearly ₹100 crore routed to jewelry businesses using fake invoices.
ED action
Enforcement Directorate uncovers extensive network of shell entities
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen more than 90 bank accounts linked to the fraud. They also searched 19 locations across Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, Gurgaon, and Bengaluru this week. The searches revealed a network of shell entities suspected of facilitating fund diversion and layering. Wadhwa's arrest comes after the ED said he siphoned off a "significant amount" in the ₹590 crore IDFC First Bank fraud scam.