Chandigarh, June 13 -- The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed its first chargesheet inconnection with the alleged diversion of Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL) funds from IDFC First Bank's Sector 32 branch, and named CSCL chief financial officer (CFO) Nalini Malik, businessman Vikram Wadhwa and five bankers in the reported fraud. The chargesheet, running over 200 pages, was filed before the special CBI court inChandigarh. Apart from Malik and Wadhwa, former IDFC officials Ribhav Rishi, Abhay Kumar and Seema Dhiman and two unnamed bank officials also figure in the chargesheet. Though CBI has not officially released names of those charged in the fraud, an official of the agency confirmed: "Seven accused persons, including five bank officials, one CSCL official and one private person, have been chargesheeted in this case." "This is the first chargesheet in the CSCL case. The offences cited in the chargesheets relate to criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, forgery and cheating, along with offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act. In Chandigarh UT, it (loss to exchequer in two cases) is Rs.153 crore," the agency official further said, adding that more chargesheets are likely to be filed soon. The case relates to the alleged misappropriation of funds belonging to CSCL that were deposited with IDFC First Bank. According to investigators, the money was allegedly siphoned from government-linked accounts through unauthorised debit transactions and the withdrawals were concealed through forged fixed deposit receipts (FDRs), giving the impression that the funds remained invested with the bank. The fraud came to light when CSCL was being wound up and its funds were being transferred to the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC). During the process, officials sought to encash FDRs worth over Rs.116 crore that had allegedly been created from Smart City funds. Questions arose after the bank informed civic authorities that the FDRs presented for encashment did not exist in its records and were not reflected in the banking system. Investigators allege the FDRs had been issued during March and April 2025 by Rishi, who was then the branch manager. The investigation wastriggered by a similar fund diversion case, involving Haryana government departments and the Panchkula MC, which surfaced at the same bank,estimated at Rs.500 crore. Following the Haryana revelations, Chandigarh authorities reviewed their deposits anddiscovered the alleged irregularities. Rishi and Wadhwa's names also figure in the fraud reported in Haryana. Based on a complaint filed by the Chandigarh MC commissioner, the economic offences wing (EOW) of UT police registered an FIR on March 9 under Sections 318(4) (cheating), 336(3) (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security), 340(2) (fraudulent use of forged documents), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) and 316(5) (criminal breach of trust) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The investigation was subsequently transferred to the CBI by the UT administration. The Chandigarh case is one component of a wider investigation into the alleged diversion of public funds from accountsmaintained at the same bank branch. According to the CBI, theHaryana arm of the fraud resulted in an alleged loss of Rs.504 crore involving multiple government departments and the Panchkula MC. The agency stated that the Chandigarh arm of the fraud caused an alleged loss of Rs.153 crore, involving funds belonging to Chandigarh Smart City Limited and the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society (CREST)--were pegged atRs.116 crore and Rs.87 crore respectively. Together, the Haryana and Chandigarh cases account for the alleged diversion ofapproximately Rs.657 crore. CBI claimed that investigators traced the movement of funds through several entities, which eventually reached businessman and hotelier Wadhwa andwas invested in real-estateventures. Investigators claim reverse entries were made into accounts whenever required in an attempt to conceal the transactions. A detailed chargesheet has not been made available as of now. Sources said the chargesheet contains transaction records, digital evidence and details of properties allegedly acquired using the diverted funds. Investigators havedocumented investments inresidential and commercial projects located in Chandigarh, Mohali, Kharar and other areas of the Tricity region....