Chandigarh, March 25 – An FIR has been filed in connection with alleged discrepancies related to Fixed Deposit Receipts (FDRs) involving nearly ₹150 crore from the Panchkula Municipal Corporation, involving Kotak Mahindra Bank's branch.
The Haryana State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SVACB) filed the FIR on Tuesday night, accusing unnamed bank officials and others of cheating, conspiracy, and other offenses. The Haryana government decided to refer the case to the SVACB.
The municipal corporation claims a significant mismatch between its official records and the records maintained by the Kotak Mahindra Bank branch in Panchkula.
Vinay Kumar, Commissioner of the Panchkula Municipal Corporation (PMC), stated that the discrepancies involve a total of nearly ₹150 crore in FDRs.
In a statement on Wednesday, a Kotak Mahindra Bank spokesperson said that a detailed reconciliation of fixed deposits and linked bank accounts maintained by the municipal corporation was carried out. They stated that "based on records examined so far, accounts and transactions were handled in strict adherence to due process and applicable banking norms."
This FIR follows the Haryana government's decision to refer the case to the SVACB on Tuesday to file an FIR regarding the non-reconciliation of funds and to conduct a thorough investigation into the discrepancies related to the MC, Panchkula's FDRs, as well as the bank accounts maintained with Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sector-11, Panchkula.
The FIR was registered at the police station, ACB, Panchkula, under sections 316 (5) (criminal breach of trust), 318 (4) (cheating), 336 (3) (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security, will etc), 340 (forged document or electronic record), and 61 (criminal conspiracy) and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988's 13 (2) and 13 (1) (a).
According to the FIR, the PMC has maintained 16 FDRs amounting to ₹145,03,41,704 (over ₹145 crore) with a maturity value of ₹158,02,36,420 (over ₹158 crore) with Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sector-11, Panchkula.
Eleven of these FDRs, amounting to ₹59,57,67,709 (over ₹59 crore), matured on February 16, 2026.
The FIR states, "Furthermore, as per the bank statement of account No.... received on March 16, the balance as on March 13 is reflected as ₹2,17,74,394 (over ₹2.17 crore) only as against the expected balance of ₹50,00,24,463 (over ₹50 crore)."
The FIR further states, "Furthermore, the bank has intimated that there is no live Term Deposit available and that the balance in the account as on March 18, is ₹12,85,93,603.86 (over ₹12 crore)."
"However, as per the office record, Municipal Corporation, Panchkula is maintaining 16 FDRs with Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sector-11, Panchkula, amounting to ₹145,03,41,704 with a maturity value of ₹158,02,36,420 which is not in consonance with the position conveyed by the bank," the FIR said.
According to the FIR, this depicts that the records are "totally mismatched" and there is "every apprehension of financial irregularities having been committed by the said bank."
The PMC has also constituted a committee to examine the matter regarding reconciliation and verification of all FDRs and bank statements maintained with the branch.
The corporation has undertaken a thorough and detailed verification exercise as per instructions issued by the Finance Department, Haryana, vide a memo dated February 18 and March 17.
"During the course of reconciliation and interaction with the Kotak Mahindra Bank authorities, significant discrepancies have been observed between the FDRs recorded in office records and the balance/records reflected by the bank," the SVACB further stated.
"Furthermore, additional bank accounts which were not reflected in the official records, have also come to notice during the verification process," the FIR by the SVACB further stated.
Two accounts were being operated with Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sector-11, Panchkula, the FIR stated.
"However, during verification, two additional accounts have also been reported by the bank, which are not reflecting in the office record," the FIR stated.
"The inconsistencies in the bank statements, along with the existence of these previously unrecorded accounts, raises serious concerns regarding the correctness and integrity of the financial records, maintained by the bank vis-a-vis the office records of Municipal Corporation, Panchkula," it said.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson of Kotak Mahindra Bank said, "Following instructions from the Municipal Corporation of Panchkula, Kotak Mahindra Bank initiated a detailed reconciliation of fixed deposits and linked bank accounts maintained by the Municipal Corporation.
"As part of this exercise, the Bank has confirmed, based on records examined so far, that all account opening processes, KYC documentation, authorised signatories and instructions received from the Municipal Corporation were in order, and that the accounts and transactions were handled in strict adherence to due process and applicable banking norms".
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