IDFC First Bank pays additional ₹55 crore to settle Chandigarh fraud case

Additional payout raises total settlement to ₹645 crore after reconciliation of claims linked to a fraud involving a Haryana government account

IDFC First Bank on Tuesday said it has paid an additional ₹55 crore to the relevant departments of the Haryana government as part of claim settlements, taking the total amount reconciled to ₹645 crore, following the discovery of a fraud at its Chandigarh branch last month.

 

In an exchange filing, the lender said: “…against the initial estimate of principal of ₹590 crore, the bank has received claims and paid the net principal amount of ₹645 crore. Thus, we would like to share that the incremental principal payout against the claims is ₹55 crores more than the original estimates.”

 

The bank said the additional claim pertains to the same incident and that no other claims are pending.

 

 

“The bank has since completed reconciliation of all relevant accounts in the said Chandigarh branch, and no further discrepancy is noted. No other claims have been received from any other entity across the country since February 25,” it said in the filing.

 

“The bank has made the said payment to the concerned clients in line with our principled approach on this matter of making good the client payments,” it added.

 

Last month, the bank reported a fraud of ₹590 crore at one of its Chandigarh branches involving a state government account. The issue surfaced after a government department sought to close its account with the bank and transfer the funds to another lender, but the amount mentioned by the department did not match the balance in the account.

 

According to the bank, preliminary findings indicated that certain employees of the branch had acted fraudulently in clearing forged instruments and payment instructions, possibly in collusion with external parties.

 

The employees involved have been suspended and the bank has appointed KPMG to conduct a forensic audit. The audit report is expected within the next four to five weeks.

 

“The bank will continue to pursue actions against the perpetrators to recover our dues,” the lender said.

 

Despite the incident, the bank said its deposit base has remained stable. Deposits stood at ₹2.92 trillion as of February 28, 2026, compared with ₹2.91 trillion as of December 31, 2025. The average liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) for the ongoing quarter until February 28, 2026, stood at 114 per cent.

 

“The bank anticipates growth in deposits and loans going forward, broadly in line with past trends,” it said, adding that the fraud was an isolated incident linked to a single branch in Chandigarh.