The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has stated that no record exists explaining why the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) opened an account with IDFC First Bank's Sector 32 branch in Chandigarh, from which ₹169 crore was embezzled. The probe agency also confirmed that no approval was obtained from senior board officials for opening the account, and the matter was never brought to the attention of any officer superior to Senior Accounts Officer Parveen Kumar.
Largest Single Fraud in Haryana Government
The ₹169 crore misappropriation is the single-largest fraud across all eight affected departments of the Haryana Government, with the total scam amounting to ₹657 crore. Parveen Kumar, who was produced in the CBI Special Court in Panchkula on Friday, had signed the account opening form as an authorised signatory.
The account was opened on February 27, 2025, when IAS officer Vineet Garg was HSPCB Chairman and former IAS officer Pardeep Kumar was Member Secretary. Pardeep Kumar was arrested on June 30, the day of his superannuation.
Role of Parveen Kumar
According to the CBI, an e-file containing the account opening kit was marked to Parveen, who forwarded it to co-accused Saurav Sharma, a Data Entry Operator. The CBI said it had established Parveen's knowledge of the account, and he had not offered any explanation for its existence. A substantial part of the embezzlement was done through fraudulent debits. An amount of ₹110 crore was withdrawn during Parveen's tenure using cheques bearing his signature as the Senior Accounts Officer.
“The first account chequebook was received in the department, but never acknowledged or recovered. The second chequebook was used for debit and diverting funds to shell entities, including CAPCO Fintech, Swastik Desh Projects, AS Bullion Traders, Disha Traders, Bharat Solar, Mannat Contractors and SRR Planning Gurus,” the CBI said.
Violation of Investment Limits
It has also come to light that “investment files” were routed through Parveen in his capacity as the Senior Accounts Officer. He was well aware of the Finance Department’s circular dated July 12, 2024, which capped the maximum investment amount in newly empanelled banks such as IDFC First Bank at ₹50 crore and in small finance banks at ₹25 crore. It was Parveen’s responsibility to enforce the order.
In furtherance of the criminal conspiracy, Parveen “deliberately did not bring the upper investment limit to the knowledge of his seniors and did not mention it in his notes, as a result of which the quantum of investment exceeded the prescribed limit in the IDFC First Bank account”, the CBI alleged.
Parveen’s role was not confined to that of a Senior Accounts Officer, and there were reasonable grounds to believe he had actively participated in the larger conspiracy and facilitated the commission of the offences under investigation, said the CBI.
Custody and Investigation
During the hearing, the CBI sought Parveen’s custody to identify and recover the properties acquired and gold purchased out of the siphoned funds. The court allowed the appeal and sent Parveen to three-day CBI custody.
