The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered three separate cases in connection with a ₹183.21 crore fake bank guarantee scam involving Madhya Pradesh Jal Nigam Limited (MPJNL). The cases were filed on May 9, 2025, following directives from the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The core of the scam revolves around a private Indore-based company that allegedly secured three large irrigation contracts worth ₹974 crore using forged bank guarantees.
According to the CBI, the firm submitted eight fraudulent guarantees purportedly from Punjab National Bank (PNB) while bidding for the MPJNL tenders. To add legitimacy, fake email confirmations—purporting to be from PNB—were sent to MPJNL, verifying the guarantees as genuine. Based on these falsified assurances, the state-owned agency awarded the contracts to the firm.
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Nationwide Raids and Arrests: CBI Action Spans Five States
The CBI launched an extensive search and seizure operation across 23 locations in Delhi, West Bengal, Gujarat, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh on June 19 and 20, 2025. As part of this coordinated effort, two individuals were arrested from Kolkata, including a senior manager of Punjab National Bank. The arrests are considered a breakthrough in unearthing a wider network behind the scam.
Both arrested individuals were produced before a local court in Kolkata and are being transported to Indore under transit remand. Investigators suspect these individuals played a key role in validating and circulating fake guarantees on behalf of the syndicate.
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Syndicate Operated Across States to Bag Government Contracts
The CBI probe has revealed that the scam is not limited to Madhya Pradesh. A Kolkata-based criminal syndicate is suspected to be the kingpin behind multiple similar frauds across the country, fabricating bank guarantees to fraudulently secure government projects in various states. The investigation suggests that this network had access to confidential bank formats and email servers, enabling them to create highly convincing fraudulent documents.
The CBI is currently expanding its probe to determine how many other contracts may have been fraudulently awarded and which officials or intermediaries might be complicit. Officials from MPJNL and representatives from Punjab National Bank are also under scrutiny as the agency works to identify internal lapses or collusion.