Jewellers in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula received Rs 95.81 crore from shell entities allegedly floated by the accused in the Rs 645-crore IDFC First Bank-AU Small Finance Bank scam.The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Chandigarh, conducted search operations at 14 premises belonging to jewellers and their associates across Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula on September 29.The searches resulted in the recovery and seizure of cash amounting to Rs 4.30 crore and the freezing of bank balances of approximately Rs 22 crore lying in the bank accounts of the jewellers and their associated entities.Various incriminating documents and digital evidence were also recovered and seized during the searches, the ED said.The public funds allegedly embezzled in the scam belonged to the Haryana government and the Chandigarh Administration.The ED investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Haryana, in February 2026, concerning discrepancies in the balances of bank accounts of the Development and Panchayat Department, Haryana, maintained with IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank.The investigation revealed that Malik Jewellers, KLG Group (KLG Jewels, KLG Infra and KLG & Co.), M.B. Gold Traders, M/s Sham Jewellers and M/s Jattvibeder Jewellers allegedly received approximately Rs 58 crore, Rs 26 crore, Rs 5 crore, Rs 3.66 crore and Rs 3.15 crore, respectively, from intermediary shell entities purportedly floated by Ribhav Rishi, identified by the ED as the alleged mastermind of the scam.The jewellers were allegedly involved in laundering the proceeds of crime generated from the bank accounts of various departments of the Haryana government and the Chandigarh Administration. The proceeds of crime were allegedly routed through the jewellers to accused IAS officers and other government servants involved in the scam.In this regard, the CBI has filed a third chargesheet before the Special Court in Panchkula, naming six Haryana-cadre IAS officers. They include five serving IAS officers—Mohd Shayin, Saket Kumar, Vineet Garg, Pankaj Agarwal and RK Singh—and a retired IAS officer, Pardeep Kumar, along with other government servants, in connection with the bank fraud case.Earlier, in the same case, the ED had arrested four accused persons for their alleged involvement in money laundering. The agency had also attached, seized and frozen movable and immovable assets worth approximately Rs 211 crore in connection with the investigation.