₹150-Crore FD Scam Hits Panchkula MC at Kotak Mahindra Bank

New Delhi, March 25, 2026: Following the massive ₹590-crore fraud involving IDFC First Bank that recently rocked Haryana, a new financial scandal has surfaced in Panchkula. This time, discrepancies amounting to approximately ₹150 crore have been detected in the fixed deposit (FD) accounts of the Panchkula Municipal Corporation (MC) maintained at the Sector 11 branch of Kotak Mahindra Bank.

The discovery has sent shockwaves through the state administration, leading to an immediate investigation by the Haryana State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

The Modus Operandi: Forged Receipts and Ghost Accounts

The fraud came to light on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, when the Panchkula Municipal Corporation requested the bank to transfer a matured FD worth ₹58 crore into its operational account. To the officials’ dismay, the bank records indicated that no such funds existed.

Initial probes have revealed a sophisticated trail of deception:

• Fictitious Accounts: It is alleged that bank officials or individuals with access to the system opened unauthorized accounts and diverted the FD amounts into them using RTGS transfers.
• Forged Documents: To keep the civic body in the dark, the perpetrators allegedly provided the MC with fabricated bank statements and counterfeit Fixed Deposit Receipts (FDRs). These documents featured forged signatures and fake official stamps to appear authentic during audits.
• Empty Vaults: Upon a comprehensive review of all municipal deposits at the branch, authorities discovered that nearly the entire corpus of ₹160 crore parked by the MC over several years had been siphoned off.

Kotak Mahindra Bank’s Response

In response to the allegations, a spokesperson for Kotak Mahindra Bank stated that the lender has initiated a “detailed reconciliation” of the accounts. While the bank maintains that its internal KYC (Know Your Customer) and account-opening processes were strictly followed, it has filed its own formal complaint with the Panchkula Police to ensure an independent inquiry.

The bank noted that a portion of the funds has already been reconciled and expressed full cooperation with law enforcement agencies.

A Pattern of Institutional Lapses?

This incident follows closely on the heels of the IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank scam, where ₹590 crore of Haryana government funds were embezzled using fake debit memos.

The recurring nature of these frauds has prompted the Haryana government to take drastic measures:

1. De-empanelment: Following the IDFC case, several private banks were removed from the state’s approved list for parking public funds.
2. Stricter Guidelines: The Finance Department has now made it mandatory for departments to seek prior approval before opening accounts in private or corporate banks, favoring nationalized banks for better security.
3. High-Level Probe: Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi has directed the State Vigilance Bureau to expedite the investigation, with officials suggesting that such a large-scale embezzlement would have been impossible without the collusion of senior bank staff and potentially some insiders within the MC.

Current Status of Investigation

An FIR has been registered, and the State Vigilance Bureau is currently scanning over 100 bank accounts linked to the suspected fraudulent transfers. While no arrests have been made specifically in the Kotak Mahindra case as of today, investigators are looking for links between this scam and the previously arrested “masterminds” of the IDFC fraud to determine if a larger syndicate is targeting government liquidity in the region.

The Panchkula Municipal Corporation has already written to the state government seeking the immediate de-empanelment of Kotak Mahindra Bank to prevent further risk to public money.