ED raids 12 sites in Chandigarh-Panchkula region in ₹145-crore Panchkula MC funds fraud

The ED stated that six persons have been arrested in connection with the case: Pushpinder Singh (Kotak Mahindra Bank deputy vice president), Dileep Kumar Raghav (former bank relationship manager), Vikas Kaushik (MC’s former senior accounts officer), Rajat Dahra, Kapil Kumar, and Swati Tomar.

During the searches, ED investigators found that two bank accounts were opened using forged authorization documents in the civic body's name; funds from MC accounts were transferred to unauthorized accounts using fake fund migration letters. Unauthorised email IDs were used to obtain transaction approvals, while the official MC email IDs differed. The ED recorded statements under Section 50 of the PMLA and noted that funds were diverted through financiers, with part of the money invested in real estate and transferred to private individuals, including Rajat Dahra, Swati Tomar and Kapil Kumar.

The Enforcement Directorate carried out searches at 12 locations across Chandigarh, Panchkula, Zirakpur, Dera Bassi and Rajpura on April 22, 2026 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. During the operation, sale-purchase agreements and several incriminating documents related to money laundering were seized.

The Panchkula Anti-Corruption Bureau registered an FIR on March 24, 2026 under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prevention of Corruption Act, forming the basis for the ED’s money-laundering probe into the ₹145-crore fraud involving the Panchkula Municipal Corporation and Kotak Mahindra Bank.