Odisha vigilance on Sunday arrested six men, including a suspended government official, for allegedly embezzling nearly Rs 8 crore through fraudulent pension bills from the Chandbali sub-treasury in Bhadrak district.
Arrests and Mastermind
The alleged mastermind, Santosh Kumar Panda, a former senior assistant at Chandbali sub-treasury office who was recently suspended after the fraud was unearthed, was arrested along with five of his associates — Siba Shankar Samal, Deb Shankar Samal, Prafulla Kumar Rout, Sandip Kumar Mitra and Abhay Kumar Panda.
Fraudulent Transactions
Between July 25, 2018, and May 4, 2023, at least 102 fraudulent bills worth Rs 8,04,76,146 were passed, diverting the money into 44 bank accounts linked to 37 persons. “Six men have been arrested so far. Further investigation is underway to identify other associates and officials who may have facilitated the embezzlement,” a vigilance official said.
Modus Operandi
Vigilance officials recently received input and unearthed the corruption where Panda allegedly exploited the integrated financial management system (IFMS) and misappropriated the amount.
“Pension, gratuity or commutation bills were processed in the name of one genuine pensioner without his knowledge. Panda used his official login credentials and accessed the ‘gratuity payment menu’ on the IFMS portal. He re-entered authentic pension payment order details and generated third-party government pension order IDs to divert the funds into accounts controlled by his associates,” the vigilance official added.
Role of Approving Authority
A sub-treasury officer, acting as the approving authority, allegedly cleared these bills without verifying whether payments had already been made or whether beneficiary details matched official records.
Further investigation is ongoing to determine the full extent of the fraud and any additional involvement.
