CBI Arrests Haryana IAS Officer Pankaj Agarwal for Alleged Role in Rs 60.54 Crore Bank Fraud
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Haryana-cadre IAS officer Pankaj Agarwal on Monday night for his alleged involvement in a bank fraud that caused a loss of Rs 60.54 crore to the state exchequer. The arrest is part of a larger Rs 657-crore scam involving officials from IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, who allegedly colluded with state government officials and IAS officers to siphon off funds from eight Haryana departments and two Chandigarh Administration departments. The Enforcement Directorate has estimated the total loss at Rs 645 crore.
A Panchkula court on Tuesday sent Agarwal to two-day CBI custody, with the next hearing scheduled for June 25. The CBI told the court that Agarwal, a 2000-batch IAS officer, facilitated the opening of accounts for the School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad and the State Agriculture Marketing Board at IDFC First Bank's Sector 32 branch in Chandigarh, allegedly in violation of Finance Department guidelines and with intent to misappropriate funds.
Key Allegations: Quid Pro Quo and Fraudulent Transactions
According to the CBI, during his tenure as Principal Secretary, School Education, from December 10, 2024, to June 16, 2025, Agarwal allegedly conspired with scam mastermind and IDFC branch manager Ribhav Rishi to open a new account. He approved the transfer of Rs 100 crore from a Kotak Mahindra Bank account to IDFC, despite a permissible deposit limit of Rs 50 crore for that bank. The CBI claimed that Agarwal pressured a subordinate officer and insisted on opening the account without obtaining approval from the Finance Department, and that no competitive process or quotations from empanelled banks were sought.
After the deposit, the CBI recorded 101 fraudulent debit transactions totaling Rs 182.93 crore and 33 fraudulent credit transactions totaling Rs 132.39 crore, resulting in an embezzlement of Rs 50.54 crore from that account alone. The agency stated, “There is evidence that shows he received pecuniary gratification in lieu of opening the account.”
After moving to the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department on June 20, 2025, Agarwal allegedly “personally intervened” to open another department account with IDFC on July 10, 2025. The CBI noted that an examination of the available balance as of June 30 revealed no necessity for an additional account, and the Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board already maintained multiple savings bank accounts. Through a cancelled cheque number 000006, Rs 10 crore was fraudulently withdrawn on January 14, 2026, in favor of M/s SRR Planning Gurus Pvt Ltd and M/s Mannat Contractors—both shell entities floated by Rishi and others to siphon funds.
Destruction of Evidence and Political Allegations
The CBI accused Agarwal of destroying evidence, stating that analysis of his mobile phone revealed he deleted incriminating chats and call logs and failed to provide any explanation. The agency further alleged that Agarwal “had knowledge about the diversion of funds through debit transactions and was in touch with the accused bank officials,” and that he “received illegal gratification as a quid pro quo for his participation in the conspiracy.”
Separately, the opposition Congress party had previously accused Agarwal, while serving as returning officer for the March 16 Rajya Sabha elections, of favoring a BJP-backed Independent candidate, Satish Nandal, by allegedly invalidating Congress votes. However, the Congress candidate ultimately won the seat. Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda posted on X, “The arrest has exposed the BJP's corrupt face. During the Rajya Sabha elections, this officer had made a concerted effort to ensure the victory of a BJP-backed candidate. The incident brought back memories of the brazen theft of councillors' votes by returning officer Anil Masih during the Chandigarh mayoral election. The BJP government exploited this corrupt officer to serve its own political interests by using the threat of action against him as leverage. Instead of penalising him, the BJP government rewarded this corrupt officer by entrusting him with key departments such as Irrigation, Water Resources and Mining & Geology.”
