The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has disclosed that the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) possesses no documentation regarding the opening of an account with IDFC First Bank's Sector 32 branch in Chandigarh. The account was allegedly opened without approval and was not reported to any officer senior to Senior Accounts Officer Parveen Kumar, according to the CBI's submission in a Panchkula court on Friday.
Rs 169 Crore Misappropriation
This account is the same one from which Rs 169 crore was misappropriated, marking the largest single fraud across all eight affected departments of the Haryana government. The CBI stated that Parveen Kumar signed the account-opening form as the Senior Accounts Officer and authorized signatory. The account was opened on February 27, 2025, when IAS officer Vineet Garg was Chairman of HSPCB and Pardeep Kumar, now retired from IAS, was Member Secretary. The Member Secretary was arrested on June 30, the day of his superannuation.
No Explanation for Account's Existence
According to the CBI, an e-file containing the account opening kit was marked to Parveen Kumar, who then forwarded it to co-accused Saurav Sharma, a Data Entry Operator at HSPCB. The CBI said it has established Parveen Kumar's knowledge of the account, and he has offered no explanation for its existence. A substantial part of the misappropriation, amounting to Rs 110 crore, was carried out through fraudulent debits during Parveen Kumar's tenure, using cheques bearing his signature as Senior Accounts Officer.
Cheque Books and Shell Entities
The CBI submitted that the first cheque book issued for the account was received by the department but never acknowledged and has not been recovered. The second cheque book, containing the cheques used for the debits, was also issued. Funds were siphoned into shell entities including CAPCO Fintech, Swastik Desh Projects, AS Bullion Traders, Disha Traders, Bharat Solar, Mannat Contractors, and SRR Planning Gurus.
Violation of Investment Ceilings
The CBI further alleged that Parveen Kumar, as Senior Accounts Officer, routed investment files through himself. He was aware of the Finance Department circular dated July 12, 2024, which prescribed investment ceilings: Rs 50 crore for newly empanelled banks like IDFC First Bank and Rs 25 crore for Small Finance Banks. It was his responsibility to enforce these limits. However, in furtherance of the criminal conspiracy, he deliberately did not bring the limits to the knowledge of senior officers and omitted them from his notes, resulting in investments exceeding the prescribed limit in the IDFC First Bank account.
Active Participation in Conspiracy
The CBI argued that Parveen Kumar's role was not limited to that of a Senior Accounts Officer. There are reasonable grounds to believe he actively participated in the larger conspiracy and facilitated the commission of offences under investigation. The agency added that properties acquired and gold purchased from the siphoned funds need to be identified and recovered, for which Parveen Kumar's custody is required.
The CBI Special Court in Panchkula sent Parveen Kumar to CBI custody for three days, until July 6.
