Rs 83-crore IDFC First Bank fraud: Chandigarh court denies bail to ex-CREST accountant
CBI claims hotel bills of Rs 2,91,000 for the accused’s personal trip to Rajasthan were allegedly paid by Ribhav Rishi, a bank officer, from the account of CAPCO Fintech Services
A Chandigarh court has dismissed the bail application of Sahil Kukkar, former accountant of the Chandigarh Renewable Energy & Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST), who was arrested in a scam involving over Rs 83 crore, linked to fraudulent transactions in IDFC First Bank accounts.
The FIR in the case was initially registered by Chandigarh Police on March 12, pertaining to large-scale fraud through fraudulent banking operations and fictitious transactions to divert government funds to shell entities in connivance with bank officials and public servants. Later, the case was transferred to the CBI.
Counsel for the accused argued that he has been falsely implicated. He said the applicant was arrested on March 31 and has been in custody since then.
He further submitted that the accused was not named in the original FIR and that his name surfaced later during the investigation. No specific role has been attributed to him.
The applicant is merely an accountant engaged on a contractual basis and was neither a director nor a key managerial person of the organisation. He had no authority to sanction, approve, authorize, or release any funds and had no control over the bank accounts involved in the case.
However, Jai Hind Patel, public prosecutor for the CBI, opposed the bail application. He alleged that Sahil Kukkar was actively involved in the conspiracy. He also stated that the mobile number of the accused was registered with all three CREST bank accounts for receiving SMS alerts.
Being the accountant during the entire relevant period, he was responsible for supervising the financial affairs of CREST, scrutinising financial transactions, maintaining financial records, and overseeing overall financial management.
The hotel bills of Rs 2,91,000 for the accused’s personal trip to Rajasthan were allegedly paid by Ribhav Rishi, a bank officer, from the account of CAPCO Fintech Services.
After hearing the arguments, the court dismissed the bail application of the accused. Counsels Shiti Jain Dutt, Pawan Dogra, and Satpreet Singh appeared for IDFC First Bank.
