The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) on Monday asked Chandigarh police to explain under what authority it had sought the de-freezing of at least four IDFC Bank accounts linked to the ₹200-crore MC and CREST funds’ fraud case, after the investigation had already been transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Hearing a petition filed by the bank, the bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Sanjiv Berry sought a response from the UT police by May 14. The bank had moved a plea, seeking safeguards to prevent the dissipation of the siphoned off funds into the accounts beneficiaries identified in the case.
The bank had also sought directions to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to provide information on the proceedings initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in relation to freezing and attachment of proceeds of crime.
During the hearing on Monday, the bank’s counsel, senior advocate RS Rai, told the court that the Ministry of home affairs has already granted a go-ahead for transferring the FIRs registered by Chandigarh police to the CBI.
He also referred to an April 27 communication sent to the CBI director for transfer of the cases in question.
On May 2 and May 8, however, Chandigarh police issued some letters to the bank even as the local police have effectively ceased to have control over the investigation after the transfer of cases to the CBI.
During the hearing, the court orally questioned UT’s counsel stating that once the investigation stood transferred to the CBI on April 27, why are the police continuing with issuing letters regarding the frozen accounts. Later, it posted the matter for May 14 and asked UT’s counsel to seek instructions.
Nearly ₹117 crore fixed deposit receipt (FDR) in Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) accounts and ₹75-crore of the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society (CREST) accounts were embezzled by bank officials in connivance with civic officials and others. A similar case, involving the embezzlement of ₹590 crore from the Haryana government’s accounts, maintained with IDFC First Bank, Chandigarh, had also surfaced.
