Haryana Government Embezzlement Case: Real Estate Businessman Arrested

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested a real estate businessman in connection with the Rs 645 crore Haryana government embezzlement case, alleging his involvement in laundering proceeds of crime.

Photograph: Courtesy: IDFC First Bank Photos/Wikimedia Commons

Key Points

The Enforcement Directorate arrested Vikram Wadhwa for alleged involvement in a Rs 645 crore embezzlement case.
Wadhwa is accused of receiving over Rs 70 crore in proceeds of crime and playing a key role in laundering the funds.
The embezzlement involved public funds from Haryana government, Chandigarh administration, and private schools' bank accounts.
The ED alleges Wadhwa colluded with bank and government officials to siphon off the funds.
The investigation is ongoing to trace the money trail and identify other beneficiaries.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday said it has made the third arrest in its money laundering investigation into alleged embezzlement of Rs 645 crore from bank accounts linked to Haryana government, Chandigarh administration and two private schools maintained with IDFC First Bank.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested real estate businessman Vikram Wadhwa on May 29 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), alleging that he received more than Rs 70 crore in proceeds of crime and played a key role in the generation, layering and concealment of the laundered funds, an official statement said.

Following his arrest under Section 19 of the PMLA, Wadhwa was produced before a special PMLA court that sent him to four-day ED custody till June 2, it said.

Details of the Embezzlement Scheme

According to the ED, its investigation has so far revealed the "embezzlement of public funds amounting to Rs 645 crore from the bank accounts of Haryana government, Chandigarh UT Administration and two private schools based in Chandigarh and Panchkula maintained with IDFC First Bank".

The agency alleged that Wadhwa acted in connivance with co-accused Ribhav Rishi, Abhay Kumar, bank officials and government officials in siphoning off the funds.

"Vikram Wadhwa has been instrumental in generation, layering and concealment of proceeds of crime," the ED said in a statement.

Wadhwa's Role in Money Laundering

The agency alleged that "he received proceeds of crime amounting to more than Rs 70 crore in his personal account", in addition to a substantial amount of cash generated from the embezzled funds.

It said he subsequently invested the money in various entities linked to him and purchased several immovable properties.

The ED said a number of intermediary shell entities, including Capco Fintech Services, Swastik Desh Projects, R S Traders and SRR Planning Gurus Pvt Ltd, allegedly received embezzled funds directly from accounts of government departments.

"Thereafter, the embezzled funds were further layered through various bank accounts of accused persons and entities related to them," the agency said.

Further Investigation and Cash Distribution

The probe has further revealed that hundreds of crores of rupees were transferred from these intermediary entities to various jewellers who allegedly provided cash against the banking transactions, the ED claimed.

"Ribhav Rishi, along with his associates, further distributed the said cash amount to various government officials and businessmen, including Vikram Wadhwa," the statement said.

The agency said efforts are underway to trace the complete money trail and identify other beneficiaries and properties allegedly acquired from the proceeds of crime.

The ED arrested Rishi and Kumar in the case on May 11. After 11 days of custodial interrogation, both were sent to judicial custody.

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