Chandigarh, March 14 -- The enforcement directorate (ED) on Friday said that it has frozen over 90 bank accounts after conducting search operations at 19 locations across Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, Gurugram and Bangalore in connection with the alleged Rs.590-crore IDFC First Bank scam involving embezzlement of public funds pertaining to Haryana government, Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) and other government accounts. The ED is investigating proceeds of crime as per the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The federal investigation agency said that incriminating material in the form of digital as well as documentary evidence have been seized. The ED is conducting investigation after registering an enforcement case information report (ECIR) based on a FIR registered by the Haryana state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau in February. The FIR was registered following detection of mismatch of balances in the bank account of Haryana development and panchayat department held with the IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank. In a statement, the ED said that its Chandigarh zonal office had conducted search operations on March 12, 2026, at 19 premises across Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, Gurugram and Bangalore. "The amount was to be kept as a fixed deposit (FD) with the bank; however, the accused persons diverted these government funds without authorisation. The search operations covered former bank employees namely Ribhav Rishi and Abhay Kumar, their family members, beneficiary shell entities namely M/s Swastik Desh Projects, M/s Capco Fintech Services and M/s Maa Vaibhav Laxmi Interiors, M/s SRR Planning Gurus Private Limited, jewellers namely Sawan Jewellers and real estate developers like Vikram Wadhwa and his business entities. According to ED, searches revealed that the public funds embezzled by the accused persons have been routed and layered across multiple shell entities. The modus operandi involves the incorporation of the shell entity, Swastik Desh Projects Pvt Ltd and huge government funds were diverted to this account initially. The partners of the Swastik Desh Project are Swati Singla and Abhishek Singla. Thereafter, the majority of the funds have been channelised through bank accounts of jewellers to create an illusion of gold purchase through bogus billing. The scam was perpetuated during the last one year through the assistance of the ex-bank employees. Former IDFC First Bank employee Ribhav Rishi utilised various shell companies to siphon off bank funds. He resigned from IDFC First Bank in June 2025. Some of the proceeds of crime were dissipated to the bank accounts of Ribhav Rishi and his wife Divya Arora. The ED said a significant amount has also been siphoned off by Chandigarh based relator Vikram Wadhwa who is also a hotelier running various projects in Mohali. "Vikram Wadhwa, who has directly received the proceeds of crime in his bank account has subsequently transferred the funds to the various real estate concerns like Prisma residency LLP, Kinspire Realty LLP and Martell Buildwell LLP. It was also found that Wadhwa had utilised the services of the jewellers, M/s Sawan Jewellers, M/s Capco Fintech Services and M/s Klaita Jewellers and shell entities like Swastik Desh projects for siphoning off the bank funds,'' the statement said. The ED said that Vikram Wadhwa could not be located during the search operations and is absconding. The ED also revealed that substantial funds received by Chandigarh Mega Store were also siphoned off by the accused persons. The partners of the store - Mohit Goyal was also searched and evidence was recovered. Search operations were also conducted at other entities like M/s Maa Vaibhav Laxmi Interiors and M/s SRR Planning Gurus Private Ltd and it was found that these entities had directly received the government funds and subsequently layered and dissipated to other shell entities, the central agency said....