CHANDIGARH: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Chandigarh Police has arrested Vikram Wadhwa, 52, a realtor from Sector 33, in connection with a scam involving around Rs 116.84 crore linked to the Chandigarh Smart City project. The arrest took place on Saturday. Authorities indicated that Wadhwa was also wanted by Haryana Police in connection with the Rs 590 crore IDFC First Bank scam. On the same day, the UT EOW secured production warrants for three other suspects—Ribhav Rishi, Abhya Kumar, and Seema Dhiman—from Ambala jail for questioning.
Following his arrest, Wadhwa was presented in court, where the police requested a seven-day remand for further investigation. The court granted a five-day remand instead. During testimony, Wadhwa mentioned colluding with former IDFC First Bank manager Ribhav Rishi to divert significant funds from government accounts. According to the police, these funds were allegedly transferred via shell companies into real estate projects.
Wadhwa stated that he had met Ribhav Rishi through Rakesh Kumar Rishi, a senior manager at Punjab National Bank in Sector 17. Ribhav later worked at IDFC First Bank and informed Wadhwa that he managed multiple government department accounts containing crores in funds. Ribhav allegedly suggested that these funds could temporarily be used for investment, with the expectation that they would be returned as needed.
The investigation uncovered that government department accounts were first moved to the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank. Subsequently, money from these accounts was allegedly funneled to several private companies before reaching Wadhwa’s accounts. The police indicated that companies like Capco Fintech Services, RS Traders, and Swastik Desh Projects were involved in this scheme. Some of the diverted funds were also traced back to the accounts of bank officer Ribhav Rishi and his wife before being invested in real estate.
Wadhwa disclosed that over the past few years, he had invested in multiple residential and commercial projects situated in Chandigarh, Mohali, Kharar, and other regions. He noted that original property documents were kept with relatives across Punjab and Haryana and mentioned a prior raid by the Income Tax department at his home.
During the investigation, EOW officials found that records from Chandigarh Smart City Limited indicated 11 fixed deposit receipts (FDRs) valued at approximately Rs 116.84 crore. However, no corresponding record for these FDRs appeared in the bank’s system. The police stated that the FDRs were allegedly issued in March-April 2025 by Ribhav Rishi, the then-manager at IDFC First Bank’s Sector 32 branch. A review of bank statements showed suspicious transactions totaling Rs 8.22 crore, which could not be verified in MC records.
Meanwhile, Wadhwa filed three applications in court through his lawyer. The first application sought to document that he was compelled to sign various handwritten and typed documents, including black paper while in custody. The second asked for copies of the arrest memo, the FIR, and the remand application. The third application requested a declaration that his arrest was illegal, violated established procedures, and contravened Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution of India, as well as related sections of the BNS.
