Kamal Ghorui
MUMBAI: IDFC First Bank has reported a Rs 590-crore discrepancy in deposits held on behalf of Haryana govt at its Chandigarh branch, and suspended four employees pending investigation.The bank’s filing comes after the state directed its departments to close accounts with private lenders on Feb 18. The matter was escalated to the bank’s board at a hastily convened meeting on Feb 21, after the lender filed a police complaint and notified regulators. It has also informed its statutory auditors and initiated the process of appointing an independent external agency to conduct a forensic audit. In addition, recall requests have been sent to certain beneficiary banks to lien-mark balances in suspicious accounts.The disclosure was made to the exchanges has been uploaded on the bank’s website. Meanwhile, Haryana’s finance department has de-empanelled IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank for all state business with immediate effect, barring any parking or transaction of govt funds through them. On Feb 18, 2026, it also tightened rules on handling public funds. Departments can now open scheme accounts only in nationalised banks in the state, while accounts in private or corporate banks will need prior finance department approval.Based on a preliminary internal assessment, the bank said the issue is confined to a group of Haryana govt-linked accounts operated through the Chandigarh branch and does not extend to other customers at the branch. The aggregate amount under reconciliation across the identified accounts is about Rs 590 crore. The eventual impact will depend on validation of claims, recoveries, including lien-marking of balances in beneficiary accounts maintained with other banks, liabilities of other entities involved in the transactions, and the outcome of legal recovery proceedings.
