Haryana's State Vigilance Bureau is investigating alleged financial discrepancies involving nearly Rs 150 crore in Panchkula Municipal Corporation's fixed deposits held at Kotak Mahindra Bank, raising serious concerns about potential fraud and mismanagement of public funds.
Key Points
- Haryana's SVACB has filed an FIR concerning alleged discrepancies in Panchkula Municipal Corporation's fixed deposit receipts (FDRs) worth approximately Rs 150 crore at a Kotak Mahindra Bank branch.
- The investigation was initiated following a decision by the Haryana government to refer the case to the SVACB due to a multi-crore mismatch between the municipal corporation's records and the bank's records.
- The FIR includes charges of cheating, conspiracy, and forgery against unnamed bank officials and others, raising concerns about potential financial irregularities.
- Kotak Mahindra Bank claims that its accounts and transactions related to the municipal corporation were handled in strict adherence to due process and applicable banking norms.
- The investigation revealed discrepancies between the FDRs recorded in office records and the balance/records reflected by the bank, along with the discovery of additional bank accounts not reflected in the official records.
An FIR has been filed in connection with alleged discrepancies in Panchkula Municipal Corporation's fixed deposit receipts (FDRs) of nearly Rs 150 crore held at a Kotak Mahindra Bank branch.
Haryana's State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SVACB) filed the FIR on Tuesday night on cheating, conspiracy and other charges against unnamed bank officials and others, after the Haryana government decided to refer the case to the SVACB.
The municipal corporation has claimed a multi-crore mismatch in its official record and the balance/records reflected by the Panchkula branch of Kotak Mahindra Bank.
The discrepancies were detected in FDRs involving a total amount of nearly Rs 150 crore, according to Vinay Kumar, Commissioner of the Panchkula Municipal Corporation (PMC).
A spokesperson of Kotak Mahindra Bank on Wednesday, in a statement, said that a detailed reconciliation of fixed deposits and linked bank accounts maintained by the municipal corporation was carried out and based on "records examined so far", "accounts and transactions were handled in strict adherence to due process and applicable banking norms".
The FIR follows the Haryana government's decision to refer the case to the SVACB on Tuesday for lodging an FIR "in the matter pertaining to non-reconciliation of funds and for conducting a thorough investigation into the discrepancies related to the FDRs of MC, Panchkula, as well as the bank accounts maintained with Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sector-11, Panchkula".
The FIR was registered at police station, ACB, Panchkula, under BNS sections 316 (5) (criminal breach of trust), 318 (4) (cheating), 336 (3) (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security, will etc), 340 (forged document or electronic record), and 61 (criminal conspiracy) and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988's 13 (2) and 13 (1) (a).
Details of the Alleged Discrepancies
The Commissioner of PMC has been maintaining 16 FDs amounting to Rs 145,03,41,704 (over Rs 145 crore) with a maturity value of Rs 158,02,36,420 (over Rs 158 crore) in Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sector-11, Panchkula, according to the FIR.
Out of these, 11 FDs amounting to Rs 59,57,67,709 (over Rs 59 crore) have matured on February 16, 2026.
"Further, as per the bank statement of account No.... received on March 16, the balance as on March 13 is reflected as Rs 2,17,74,394 (over Rs 2.17 crore) only as against the expected balance of Rs 50,0,24,463 (over Rs 50 crore)," the FIR said
"Further, the bank has intimated that there is no live Term Deposit available and that the balance in the account as on March 18, is Rs 12,85,93,603.86 (over Rs 12 crore).
"However, as per the office record, Municipal Corporation, Panchkula is maintaining 16 FDs with Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sector-11, Panchkula, amounting to Rs 145,03,41,704 with a maturity value of Rs 158,02,36,420 which is not in consonance with the position conveyed by the bank," the FIR said.
As per the FIR, this depicts that the records are "totally mismatched" and there is "every apprehension of financial irregularities having been committed by the said bank".
PMC's Response and Further Investigation
PMC has also constituted a committee to examine the matter regarding reconciliation and verification of all FDRs and bank statements maintained with the branch.
A thorough and detailed verification exercise has been undertaken by the corporation as per instructions issued by the Finance Department, Haryana, vide a memo dated February 18 and March 17.
"During the course of reconciliation and interaction with the Kotak Mahindra Bank authorities, significant discrepancies have been observed between the FDRs recorded in office records and the balance/records reflected by the bank.
"Further, additional bank accounts which were not reflected in the official records, have also come to notice during the verification process," the FIR by the SVACB further stated.
Two accounts were being operated with Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sector-11, Panchkula, the FIR stated.
"However, during verification, two additional accounts have also been reported by the bank, which are not reflecting in the office record.
"The inconsistencies in the bank statements, along with the existence of these previously unrecorded accounts, raises serious concerns regarding the correctness and integrity of the financial records, maintained by the bank vis-a-vis the office records of Municipal Corporation, Panchkula," it said.
Kotak Mahindra Bank's Statement
Meanwhile, the spokesperson of Kotak Mahindra Bank said, "Following instructions from the Municipal Corporation of Panchkula, Kotak Mahindra Bank initiated a detailed reconciliation of fixed deposits and linked bank accounts maintained by the Municipal Corporation.
"As part of this exercise, the Bank has confirmed, based on records examined so far, that all account opening processes, KYC documentation, authorised signatories and instructions received from the Municipal Corporation were in order, and that the accounts and transactions were handled in strict adherence to due process and applicable banking norms".
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