New Delhi. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing an alleged ₹590 crore government funds scam in Haryana, has detailed the alleged roles of six IAS officers and the purported benefits they received in its third chargesheet.
According to the agency, government funds were allegedly moved to select branches of private banks by bypassing prescribed procedures and financial safeguards. The money was then allegedly siphoned off through fake fixed deposits, forged cheques, shell companies and layered transactions.
The CBI has named six IAS officers—Vineet Garg, Pankaj Agarwal, Mohammad Shayin, Dr Saket Kumar, Pardeep Kumar and Ram Kumar Singh—in the chargesheet. Nine other Haryana government officials and four bank officials have also been named. Chargesheets have now been filed against 37 people in the case. Pankaj Agarwal, Pardeep Kumar and Ram Kumar Singh have been arrested and are in judicial custody, while the other three IAS officers have been chargesheeted without being arrested.
According to the CBI, the alleged scam involved funds belonging to eight Haryana government departments and entities, including the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board, Haryana Power Generation Corporation, Haryana State Pollution Control Board and Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad. The funds were allegedly shifted from banks where they had originally been deposited to select branches of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank where accused bank officials were posted.
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The agency has described the alleged fraud as a four-stage operation. In the first stage, bank officials allegedly persuaded government officials to place public funds in fixed deposits. In the second, money was allegedly withdrawn through fake debit notes and forged cheques, while transaction alerts were allegedly suppressed to conceal the activity. In the third stage, the funds were routed through multiple accounts and entities using shell companies. In the final stage, the allegedly diverted money was converted into assets through jewellers and real estate-linked individuals.
The CBI has identified Ribhav Rishi, then a Chandigarh-based manager with IDFC First Bank, as an alleged key mastermind. According to the investigation, within around two years of the alleged scheme taking shape, he acquired a luxury apartment in Dubai, expensive watches worth crores of rupees and a new BMW. The agency is now investigating where the alleged proceeds of the diversion of government funds were invested.
Pankaj Agarwal Accused of Receiving ‘Undue Benefits’
According to the CBI, Pankaj Agarwal, then chairman of the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board, allegedly played a role in opening accounts and placing fixed deposits with IDFC. The agency has alleged that he received benefits including expensive hotel stays, liquor, private parties, ‘mujra’ programmes and arrangements involving escorts. Some events allegedly involved women performers being brought from Delhi, with large amounts of cash allegedly showered on them.
Agarwal’s lawyer rejected the allegations as baseless, saying no incriminating material had been recovered from his client and that he was innocent. Ribhav Rishi’s lawyer also rejected the allegations and said that claims made in a chargesheet do not constitute proof of guilt until established in court.
The CBI has further alleged that after a suspicious ₹10 crore withdrawal from the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board account surfaced in February 2026, Agarwal did not direct that a complaint be lodged with the bank, Finance Department or investigative agencies and instead allegedly attempted to suppress the matter.
Mohammad Shayin Accused of Receiving Crores
Mohammad Shayin, then managing director of the Haryana Power Generation Corporation, has been accused of allegedly receiving crores of rupees and hospitality at expensive hotels in exchange for facilitating the transfer of government funds to IDFC. According to the CBI, bills for meals with his family and friends at five-star hotels in Chandigarh were allegedly paid by Ribhav Rishi.
The investigation has also raised questions over an account opened in the name of the Dry Fly Ash Fund. The account was allegedly opened without prior approval from the Finance Department and without comparing rates offered by empanelled banks. An existing fixed deposit was also allegedly prematurely withdrawn and transferred to IDFC.
Alleged Hawala Payments
Ram Kumar Singh, then commissioner of the Panchkula Municipal Corporation, has been accused of allegedly receiving several crores through hawala channels in exchange for helping place municipal funds with IDFC First Bank. According to the CBI, the payments were allegedly made in several instalments, with some payments allegedly delivered at his residence in Chandigarh.
The agency has also questioned the unusually fast completion of one transaction. Banks were allegedly given only one day to respond, after which the evaluation, approval, premature withdrawal of an existing deposit and creation of a new ₹80 crore fixed deposit were completed on the same day.
Vineet Garg Accused of Taking Cash and Gold
Vineet Garg, then chairman of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board, has been accused of allegedly removing obstacles and influencing the process to help IDFC secure business with the board. The CBI claims that he received crores of rupees in cash and gold worth lakhs through an intermediary in return.
The agency has also alleged that the board changed its earlier system of keeping funds during Garg’s tenure, creating an opportunity for IDFC to secure business. The CBI has questioned why the relevant process was shifted from electronic files to physical files and why the related notes were allegedly examined at a personal level.
The case came to light in February 2026 when a government official found a discrepancy between departmental records and the actual balance in an account during the process of closing it. The Haryana State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau then began an investigation. In March, the state government sought a CBI probe, and the central agency took over the case and registered an FIR in April. The CBI is now investigating the alleged flow of funds, assets acquired from the proceeds and other possible beneficiaries.
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