₹145 Crore Civic Fund Fraud: Fake Authorisations, Real Estate Links Emerge

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches across Chandigarh, Panchkula, and parts of Punjab in connection with a ₹145 crore money laundering case involving alleged embezzlement of funds from the Panchkula Municipal Corporation .

The case originates from an FIR filed in March by the Haryana Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which accused several individuals of siphoning off fixed deposit (FD) funds held by the civic body at a private bank branch in Sector-11, Panchkula . The ED subsequently registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Searches were carried out at nearly a dozen premises linked to key accused, including a former deputy vice president of the bank , a customer relationship manager , and a senior municipal accounts officer . The agency said it seized incriminating documents , pointing to a well-planned conspiracy involving bank officials and private individuals.

Investigators found that the accused allegedly opened unauthorised bank accounts in the name of the municipal corporation using forged authorisation documents . Funds from legitimate accounts were then illegally diverted through fake fund transfer requests backed by fabricated letters.

To bypass verification, bank officials allegedly used unauthorized email IDs to approve these transactions. The siphoned funds were subsequently layered through financiers and private entities before being routed back to key conspirators. Some of the money was also invested in real estate.

To conceal the fraud, the accused allegedly issued forged fixed deposit receipts , falsely showing investments in 16 FDs worth ₹145.03 crore , with a projected maturity value of ₹158.02 crore .

At least six individuals have been arrested so far, and the ED said further investigation is underway to trace the full extent of the diverted funds and identify additional beneficiaries.