The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday filed a chargesheet before the Special Judge for CBI cases, Panchkula, against 19 accused persons in a case relating to the misappropriation of government funds of various departments and organisations of the Haryana Government maintained at IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank.This is the third chargesheet filed by the CBI in the case.The present chargesheet has been filed against six IAS officers of the Haryana cadre, three officers of IDFC First Bank, one officer of AU Small Finance Bank and nine other officials of the Haryana Government for offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating, destruction of evidence, forgery, using false documents as genuine, falsification of accounts, criminal breach of trust and abetment under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and offences of bribery and criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act.The investigation established that the accused public servants, in connivance with the accused bankers of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, orchestrated and executed the fraudulent scheme in a planned sequence.Funds of eight Haryana Government departments were transferred from various empanelled banks into specific branches of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank where the accused bank officers were working, as part of the conspiracy.In the process, the guidelines of the Finance Department, Haryana Government, on financial prudence and fraud prevention were violated.The funds from these accounts were misappropriated through fraudulent means and transferred to third parties who were not connected with the government departments. The amounts so transferred were layered through multiple bank accounts and converted into cash, and the accused wrongfully enriched themselves.Eight departments and organisations of the Haryana Government — Department of Panchayat, Municipal Corporations of Panchkula and Kalka, Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad (HSSPP), Haryana Labour Welfare Board (HLWB), Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB), Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), and Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL) — were affected by the scam. The total quantum of the fraud is Rs 504 crore.It may be recalled that the CBI had taken over the investigation from the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Haryana, at the request of the state government.Prior to the present chargesheet, the CBI had already chargesheeted 18 other accused persons in the case, including bank officials of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, public servants of the Haryana Government, private individuals and private companies.With the filing of the present chargesheet, the total number of persons chargesheeted so far in the case is 37.The CBI has conducted 54 searches and seized incriminating evidence, including gold worth approximately Rs 20 crore, in the case and arrested 26 accused so far.The CBI has also taken over two other related cases from Chandigarh — one pertaining to Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL) and Municipal Corporation Chandigarh, and the other relating to Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society (CREST). Chargesheets have already been filed in both these cases.With the Chandigarh Administration accounts included, the quantum of fraud reaches Rs 657 crore. All three cases would remain under further investigation against other suspects and accused.