IDFC First Bank probes suspected $65mn fraud in accounts of government entities

NEW DELHI: India’s IDFC First Bank said it was investigating a suspected fraud of $65 million by some employees involving accounts of local government entities and that the bank had alerted the police.

In a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange late on Saturday, IDFC First said it had observed discrepancies of 5.9 billion rupees in accounts of some entities of the Haryana state government in the north of the country.

The Mumbai-based midsize private lender said it had suspended four employees of the branch in the city of Chandigarh pending investigation of the “incident involving unauthorized and fraudulent activities”.

India’s central bank net sold $10 billion in December to curb Indian rupee volatility, bulletin shows

The bank, which attracted investments from the likes of Warburg Pincus and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority last year, said it would appoint an independent agency to probe the incident and had filed a police complaint.

The Haryana state government and police did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday.

The discrepancies were spotted when the government entities requested the closure of accounts and the amounts claimed by the two sides did not match, the bank said.

IDFC First Bank reported a profit of $55.46 million in the last quarter.