Punjab Newsline | Chandigarh
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed a chargesheet in a Chandigarh court in connection with the alleged ₹75.4 crore scam involving the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society (CREST).
Former CREST CEO and Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Navneet Srivastava, Vipam Consultancy Private Limited, and the company’s director have been named as accused in the case.
According to the CBI, the company’s director is Srivastava’s wife. The agency has invoked charges of criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence, criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery, use of forged documents as genuine, and offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The investigation revealed that while serving as CREST CEO, Srivastava allegedly conspired with other accused persons to embezzle CREST funds from accounts held with IDFC First Bank. The CBI alleged that he misused his position as a public servant to obtain illegal financial benefits.
The agency further claimed that ₹95 lakh from the alleged scam proceeds was transferred to Srivastava’s wife and later used to purchase immovable property.
Srivastava had already been arrested by the CBI and remains in judicial custody. Earlier, the agency had filed a chargesheet against 13 other accused in the same case.
CREST case is linked to a larger banking fraud at IDFC First Bank’s Sector 32 branch, where nearly ₹504 crore was allegedly siphoned off from eight departments of the Haryana government through fraudulent transactions. The CBI has so far filed chargesheets against 37 accused in the Haryana-linked case.
