The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has revealed that Amit Dewan, Director (Finance) of Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL), was regularly receiving cash payments of Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh — two to three times a month — from Ribhav Rishi, the prime accused and former IDFC First Bank branch manager at the centre of the two biggest bank frauds in Chandigarh’s history, totaling over Rs 200 crore.Sources privy to the ongoing investigation said the CBI disclosed that Rishi’s delivery boy, Amrit Pal Singh — acting on Rishi’s instructions — had first given IPL tickets to Dewan in April 2025, and from May 2025 onwards, regular cash deliveries in the range of Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh were made to Dewan through two delivery boys employed by Rishi.Special CBI Judge Bhawna Jain has on Thursday remanded Dewan to CBI police custody till May 18 and businessman Vikram Wadhwa — the other accused — to CBI custody till May 16.Larger conspiracy, crucial informationPreliminary investigations have revealed that a larger conspiracy exists involving him and other accused persons, and only a few have been identified so far. His custodial interrogation is essential to expose the entire conspiracy and the involvement of other co-accused, the agency submitted before the court.The CBI said it believes Dewan possesses crucial information about the broader conspiracy with bank officials to transfer funds from the CREST account to the HPGCL Pension Fund and HPGCL Dry Fly Ash Fund maintained with IDFC First Bank and other banks. He is also believed to have information regarding the manipulation of bank records, the creation of fake and forged documents, and the siphoning of government funds to shell companies through multiple layers, the agency said.The material available on record, according to CBI, discloses Dewan’s prima facie involvement in criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and handling and benefitting from proceeds of crime.His custodial interrogation is required to identify other co-conspirators and beneficiaries, trace the flow of proceeds of crime, unearth further financial linkages and recover additional documentary, digital and financial evidence, the CBI submitted.Dewan’s defence overruledDewan’s counsel argued that as Director (Finance) of HPGCL, he had no direct control over bank transactions — his three subordinates were the authorised signatories and received all SMS and email alerts from the bank. The counsel also argued that Dewan had previously been taken on a three-day remand in another CBI FIR, where no role was established.The court, however, overruled the objection, observing that the allegations attributed to Dewan at this stage pertain to his personal capacity — specifically, receipt of huge cash payments from Rishi through delivery boys — and not to his official dealings.Accordingly, the court held that a prior sanction under Section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act was not required at this stage, and allowed the CBI’s application for his custodial interrogation.The court also declined Dewan’s request to use a mobile phone during remand, holding that it may cause prejudice to the investigation.Rs 75 lakh in Wadhwa’s accountIn the case of businessman Vikram Wadhwa, the CBI probe revealed that a huge amount of approximately Rs 75 lakh — drawn from the defrauded CREST account — had been credited directly into his personal account. He is part of the larger conspiracy, with allegations of record manipulation also levelled against him, the agency submitted.The court noted that while Wadhwa had already been on a seven-day police remand granted to Chandigarh Police from March 19, 2026, the CBI — which has since taken over the case — is entitled to seek a fresh remand within the prescribed 60-day limitation period, particularly given that offences attributed to him are punishable with life imprisonment.Holding that the CBI’s application could not be treated as mala fide, the court shifted Wadhwa’s custody from judicial to CBI police custody till May 16 to trace the money trail and confront him with fresh information that has emerged during further investigation.The bigger pictureThe court proceedings and CBI’s preliminary disclosures assume enormous significance given the scale and brazenness of the two frauds at the heart of the probe.The Rs 83-crore CREST fraud (FIR No. 03, March 12, 2026) involved approximately 300 unauthorised transactions in CREST’s account at the same IDFC First Bank, Sector 32 branch — with bank statements systematically forged by bank officials over months to conceal a principal shortfall of Rs 75.16 crore and interest loss of Rs 7.88 crore. Stolen funds were converted into jewellery, bullion, cash and real estate.The Rs 117-crore CSCL-MCC fraud (FIR No. 02, March 9, 2026) involved a hidden bank account secretly opened in August 2024, forged bank statements and 11 fictitious fixed deposits of Rs 116.84 crore with fabricated FDR numbers — discovered only after MCC tried to encash them.Both frauds were executed at the same branch, by the same core accused — Rishi, bank officials Abhay Kumar and Seema Dhiman — using the same shell companies and modus operandi.The CBI is already investigating the related Rs 550-crore Haryana government funds scam at IDFC First Bank, involving the same shell companies — RS Traders, CAPCO Fintech Services and Swastik Desh Project — deployed to siphon money from eight Haryana government departments. Two IAS officers have been suspended in that case.Chandigarh Police had earlier arrested 14 persons, including Rishi, bank officials, CSCL CFO Nalini Malik, CREST Project Director Sukhwinder Abrol, shell company operators and a real estate agent. Former CSCL Chief General Manager and MC retired Chief Engineer NP Sharma remains under the scanner without arrest.The Centre had transferred both Chandigarh cases to the CBI on April 27, 2026, on the recommendation of Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria — exclusively reported by The Tribune on May 1. The CBI has since registered a fresh FIR and taken over the probe.A special CAG audit and full account reconciliation remain ongoing.