Chandigarh [India], February 23 : Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Monday said that the money in the IDFC First Bank Rs 590 crore fraud case will "definitely come back", adding that appropriate action will be taken against the guilty.
Speaking in the Haryana Legislative Assembly, the Chief Minister said that the government transferred all the money to an authorised bank after noting glitches. He further stated that the matter has been transferred to the Anti-Corruption Bureau and Vigilance Department.
"We have been proactive in catching this fraud... When some glitches were noted, we asked for statements, and those, too, did not match. Therefore, the government decided to transfer all the money to an authorised bank, with interest... IDFC First Bank wrote a letter to SEBI in its defence, saying an employee was at fault," the Chief Minister said.
"We transferred the matter to the Anti-Corruption Bureau and Vigilance Department. The investigation is going on... the money is completely safe, and it will definitely come back. Appropriate action will be taken against those found guilty, and even the bank if it is at fault," he added.
Saini said the government is taking the issue seriously.
"The matter surfaced on social media recently, we have investigated the case till the ground level... I assure the House that all the money will come back... I can make any statement only after the investigation...," the CM stated.
Meanwhile, the Finance Department (Institutional Finance & Credit Control) of Haryana has de-empanelled IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank for government operations with immediate effect.
The department has instructed all government departments, boards, corporations, and public sector undertakings to transfer funds from these banks to other authorised banks and close the accounts immediately, pending further notice.
IDFC FIRST Bank suspended four employees after it discovered fraudulent activity involving approximately Rs 590 crore in certain Haryana government accounts at its Chandigarh branch, the bank said in a stock exchange filing.
"The bank has launched an investigation and plans to recover the funds through legal and disciplinary action. Based on the preliminary internal review conducted, the matter is confined to a specific group of government-linked accounts within Haryana Government operated through the said branch in Chandigarh and does not extend to other customers of the Chandigarh Branch," the bank said.
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