New Delhi: Private sector lender IDFC First Bank has reported a suspected fraud of around Rs 590 crore at its Chandigarh branch, raising serious concerns. The bank said the irregularities may involve certain employees along with accounts linked to the Haryana government. An internal review has been initiated, and the matter is being examined to understand how the alleged fraud took place and who was involved.
The bank said it detected suspected unauthorised and fraudulent activities at one of its Chandigarh branches in a regulatory filing under Regulation 30 of the SEBI Listing Regulations. It added that the incident may involve certain employees along with other individuals or entities.
The bank said it has filed a complaint with the police and will fully cooperate with investigating agencies. It has also sent recall requests to certain beneficiary banks, asking them to place a lien on balances in suspicious accounts.
The issue came to light when the bank received a request from a Haryana government department to close its account and transfer the funds to another bank. During this process, the bank noticed a mismatch between the amount mentioned in the request and the actual balance in the account.
From February 18, 2026, other Haryana government entities also contacted the bank regarding their accounts. In these cases too, discrepancies were found between the balances in the bank’s records and the figures shared by the entities.
Based on a preliminary internal review, the bank said the issue appears limited to a specific group of Haryana government-linked accounts handled through the Chandigarh branch. It clarified that other customers of the branch are not affected. The total amount currently under reconciliation across the identified accounts is estimated to be around Rs 590 crore.
