The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has revealed that there exists no record in the Haryana State Pollution Control Board as to why an account was opened in the IDFC First Bank’s Sector 32 branch in Chandigarh from where Rs 169 crore was embezzled.The probe agency also said no approval was obtained from top pollution board officers for opening the account, and that the matter was not brought to the knowledge of any officer superior to Senior Accounts Officer Parveen Kumar. The Rs 169-crore misappropriation was the single-largest fraud across all eight affected departments of the Haryana Government. The total scam was worth Rs 657 crore.Parveen, who was on Friday produced in the CBI Special Court in Panchkula, had signed the account opening form as an authorised signatory.The account was opened on February 27, 2025, when IAS officer Vineet Garg was the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) Chairman while former IAS officer Pardeep Kumar was the Member Secretary. Pardeep Kumar was arrested on June 30, the day of his superannuation.According to the CBI, an e-file containing the account opening kit was marked to Parveen, who forwarded it to co-accused Saurav Sharma, a Data Entry Operator.The CBI said it had established Parveen’s knowledge of the account, and that he had, to date, not offered any explanation for its very existence. A substantial part of the embezzlement was done through fraudulent debits. An amount of Rs 110 crore was withdrawn during Parveen’s tenure using cheques bearing his signature as the Senior Accounts Officer, the agency said.“The first account chequebook was received in the department, but never acknowledged or recovered. The second chequebook was used for debit and diverting funds to shell entities, including CAPCO Fintech, Swastik Desh Projects, AS Bullion Traders, Disha Traders, Bharat Solar, Mannat Contractors and SRR Planning Gurus,” the CBI said.It has also come to light that “investment files” were routed through Parveen in his capacity as the Senior Accounts Officer. He was well aware of the Finance Department’s circular dated July 12, 2024, which capped the maximum investment amount in newly empanelled banks such as the IDFC First Bank at Rs 50 crore and in small finance banks at Rs 25 crore, the agency said. It was Parveen’s responsibility to enforce the order.In furtherance of the criminal conspiracy, Parveen “deliberately did not bring the upper investment limit to the knowledge of his seniors and did not mention it in his notes, as a result of which the quantum of investment exceeded the prescribed limit in the IDFC First Bank account”, the CBI alleged.Parveen’s role was not confined to that of a Senior Accounts Officer and there were reasonable grounds to believe he had actively participated in the larger conspiracy and facilitated the commission of the offences under investigation, said the CBI.During the hearing, the CBI sought Parveen’s custody to identify and recover the properties acquired and gold purchased out of the siphoned funds. The court allowed the appeal and sent Parveen to three-day CBI custody.