Face2News/Panchkula

A major development has emerged in the ₹160 crore fixed deposit (FD) scam reported in Panchkula on Wednesday as Pushpendra, Vice President of Kotak Mahindra Bank, reportedly surrendered before the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) and taken into custody.

The case pertains to the alleged embezzlement of nearly ₹160 crore from fixed deposits held by the Panchkula Municipal Corporation. Investigations reveals that the funds were systematically diverted into fake bank accounts.

Authorities suspect nexus between banking officials and municipal staff, with allegations that Pushpendra and his associates broke the FDs and transferred the funds across multiple accounts before circulating them in the market at high interest rates. 

Probe findings indicate that the siphoned money was allegedly lent to builders and individuals at 3 to 5% interest, effectively creating a parallel financial network.

It may be recalled that  relationship manager of Kotak Mahindra Bank, Rajat Dhara, in whose account around ₹70 crore was transferred, Vikas Kaushik of the Municipal Corporation, another accused from Rajpura   also linked to transactions worth ₹3 crore. These arrests helped investigators uncover the scale and complexity of the network. 

A surprising angle in the case involves Swati Tomar, a teacher who surrendered earlier. Investigators claim that in 2020, she was allegedly misled by Rajat Dhara and Pushpendra into providing documents that were used to open bank accounts. These accounts reportedly shows ransactions worth nearly ₹35 crore, by misuse of personal documents.