Her name was barely known outside government circles until a few months ago. Today, Nalini Malik — former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL), a key government body entrusted with transforming Chandigarh into a model smart city — is at the centre of what investigators describe as the biggest bank fraud in the Union Territory’s history.
She is in Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody. A secret bank account linked to her has been unearthed. Her flat in Mohali was allegedly done up at the expense of the man who masterminded the fraud. And her own lawyers are now walking back a plea she filed before the court offering to cooperate with the investigation.
Here is everything you need to know.
Who is Nalini Malik?
Nalini Malik served as the Chief Financial Officer of CSCL — a special purpose vehicle jointly floated by the Chandigarh Administration and Municipal Corporation Chandigarh (MCC) to execute the Union Government’s flagship Smart Cities Mission in Chandigarh, funded by public money running into hundreds of crores.
As CFO, Malik was the most senior finance official of the organisation. She controlled CSCL’s accounts, signed off on financial transactions, and was the key person responsible for the financial handover when CSCL was wound up in March 2025 and its records, accounts and assets were transferred to MCC.
In short, she was the guardian of public money — and, according to the investigators, she allegedly became its plunderer.
What are the two frauds?
The twin frauds at the heart of this case together exceed Rs 200 crore and represent the largest financial crimes ever recorded in Chandigarh. Both were executed at the same IDFC First Bank branch at Sector 32, Chandigarh, by the same core group of accused, using the same modus operandi.
Rs 117-crore CSCL-MCC Fraud
The fraud allegedly began during the winding up of CSCL in early 2025. Investigators say a concealed bank account was secretly opened at IDFC First Bank’s Sector 32 branch in August 2024 and was never reflected in official records. Funds were allegedly siphoned from legitimate CSCL accounts into this hidden account before being transferred to shell companies.
When CSCL was formally merged with MCC in March 2025, a forged bank statement was fabricated to show that all outstanding balances had been transferred to MCC and converted into 11 fictitious fixed deposits amounting to Rs 116.84 crore with fake FDR numbers. The hidden account was never mentioned in any handover report.
The fraud came to light only in February 2026 — not through any internal audit or official vigilance — but after newspaper reports exposed similar irregularities in Haryana government funds at IDFC First Bank. When MCC officials approached the bank to encash the FDRs, they were told the instruments did not exist in the bank’s system. On February 25, IDFC First Bank confirmed the fraud and remitted Rs 121.14 crore to MCC’s PNB account. An FIR was registered on March 9.
Rs 83-crore CREST Fraud
The second case, registered on March 12, 2026, concerns the Chandigarh Renewable Energy Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST), another government body that maintained funds at the same Sector 32 branch.
A reconciliation of its bank statements in February 2026 revealed approximately 300 unauthorised transactions, with a principal shortfall of Rs 75.16 crore and interest loss of Rs 7.88 crore — a total fraud of Rs 83.04 crore. Bank statements periodically sent to CREST from official email IDs of bank officials had been systematically forged for months to conceal the theft. The siphoned money was allegedly converted into jewellery, bullion and cash, collected through couriers linked to the prime accused and routed into real estate.
Who is the prime accused?
According to investigators, the alleged kingpin is Ribhav Rishi, the former branch manager of IDFC First Bank’s Sector 32 branch from 2023 to 2025. He allegedly ran an organised criminal network that included bank officials Abhay Kumar and Seema Dhiman, shell company operators, real estate agents, government insiders and private persons — all acting in concert to systematically loot public funds parked at his branch.
Rishi is currently in judicial custody. He has been arrested in connection with both frauds. The CBI’s investigation has since revealed that he was not just stealing money but also distributed cash and other benefits to those who assisted him or ignored the irregularities.
What is Nalini Malik’s role?
Nalini Malik’s role is central to the CSCL-MCC fraud. As CSCL’s CFO, she was the authorised signatory on CSCL’s bank accounts — including, the CBI has now found, the secret undisclosed account opened at IDFC First Bank, Sector 32, in August 2024. Her personal mobile number and email ID were registered with that account for transaction alerts and banking communication. However, when CSCL’s financial records were handed over to MCC upon winding up in March 2025, this account was never disclosed or reflected in the handover documents.
It was Malik who headed the financial handover from CSCL to MCC. The forged bank statements and fictitious FDRs that MCC received — purporting to show Rs 116.84 crore safely parked in fixed deposits — were fabricated during this transition, in which Malik played the pivotal role on the CSCL side.
The CBI says it has found substantial incriminating material against her establishing active involvement in opening and operation of undisclosed bank accounts of CSCL, facilitating unauthorised transfer and diversion of huge public funds to shell entities of the criminal network, and receiving pecuniary benefits and cash consideration from them.
What has CBI found against her?
Two fresh and significant revelations have emerged from the CBI’s investigation:
The secret account
The CBI has discovered a CSCL bank account at IDFC First Bank, Sector 32, in which Malik is the authorised signatory — but which was never included in the handover record transferred from CSCL to MCC after CSCL’s winding up. The account, investigators believe, was used to siphon public funds outside official channels.
The interior designing
The CBI has found that the interior work at Malik’s flat at Taj Tower, Sector 104, Mohali, was arranged and paid for by Rishi — the prime accused who was simultaneously looting government funds at his bank branch. An interior designer, engaged at Rishi’s instance, remained in regular contact with Malik over WhatsApp chats and mobile calls regarding the work. The payment, however, was never made to the designer by Malik directly — pointing to Rishi having footed the bill, investigators say.
The CBI has told the court that the material on record discloses Malik’s prima facie involvement in criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and handling and benefitting from the proceeds of crime.
Why was she arrested and what happened in court?
Malik was first arrested by the Chandigarh Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) in April 2026 and was on police remand from April 2 to 6. She was subsequently sent to judicial custody. After the CBI took over the case, the agency sought and obtained her fresh custody. A special court remanded her to CBI custody till May 28 to confront her with documentary, digital and oral evidence, trace the money trail and identify further beneficiaries.
A significant development in court was the sudden U-turn by her defence. The CBI told the court that Malik had herself filed an application before it seeking to participate in and assist the investigation. Her lawyers, however, told the court that this application was filed in a disoriented mental and physical state — without her husband’s or lawyer’s knowledge — and should not be relied upon. The court was unimpressed. Special Judge Bhawna Jain of the CBI Special Court, Chandigarh, observed that Malik had been promptly and coherently answering the court’s queries and did not appear disoriented from any angle.
Her lawyers also alleged she had been maltreated by the SIT during her earlier custody — including being slapped by a woman police constable — and that the trauma had led to her admission in the Psychiatric Department of GMCH, Sector 48. The court noted that no such complaint had been made before the Chief Judicial Magistrate at the time of her earlier custody, and rejected the plea. The demand that she be interrogated only in the presence of her husband and lawyer was also declined, though the court directed that her lawyer be allowed to meet her for 30 minutes daily — from 5 pm to 5.30 pm — within the sight of a CBI officer, for legal consultation only.
Why did CBI take over the probe?
The scale, complexity and cross-border dimensions of the fraud made a CBI takeover both logical and necessary. The criminal network behind the Chandigarh frauds is directly linked to the Rs 550-crore Haryana government funds scam at IDFC First Bank — a related fraud in which the same shell companies (RS Traders, CAPCO Fintech Services, Swastik Desh Project) were used to siphon money from eight Haryana government departments across 12 bank accounts. Two IAS officers have been suspended in the Haryana case.
A separate Rs 150-crore fraud involving Panchkula Municipal Corporation’s fixed deposits at Kotak Mahindra Bank has also surfaced.
The money trail in the Chandigarh cases is believed to extend to other states and possibly foreign countries — far beyond the jurisdictional reach of the Chandigarh Police or any single state agency.
Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria — exclusively reported by The Tribune on May 1 — wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan requesting transfer of both cases to the CBI. On April 27, the Ministry of Home Affairs formally directed the CBI to accept transfer of both cases from the Economic Offences Wing, Chandigarh, and take necessary action.
The CBI has since registered a fresh FIR, taken over the probe, and made two additional arrests beyond the 14 already made by Chandigarh Police: Amit Dewan, Director (Finance) of Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL), and businessman Vikram Wadhwa.
Why does this matter?
The money stolen was public money — funds belonging to the residents of Chandigarh, allocated to government bodies meant to serve them.
CSCL was created specifically to implement the Smart Cities Mission — to build better roads, smarter infrastructure and improved civic amenities for Chandigarh’s residents. The Rs 117 crore that was looted from its accounts was taxpayer money meant for public works and urban development.
CREST was a government society tasked with promoting renewable energy and science and technology in the region. Its Rs 83 crore was similarly public money — including pension funds and dry fly ash funds of HPGCL, which serve the interests of thousands of power sector employees and the public at large.
The fraud was concealed for months behind forged bank statements, fake fixed deposit receipts and shell companies. It came to light not because of any government audit or internal vigilance, but because newspaper reports about a similar scam in Haryana prompted MCC officials to check their own accounts — only to discover the FDRs did not exist.
Where does the probe stand now?
The CBI is pursuing a multi-pronged investigation covering the money trail, identification of further beneficiaries and co-conspirators, and recovery of documentary, digital and financial evidence. Former CSCL Chief General Manager and MC retired Chief Engineer NP Sharma — who was grilled by investigators for several days after arrested accused’s disclosures pointed to his role — remains under the scanner without arrest.
A special CAG audit and full account reconciliation are ongoing. The Centre has already suspended Navneet Kumar Srivastava, a former IFS officer and CREST CEO, on Governor Kataria’s recommendation.
The CBI’s investigation is widely expected to widen further, with sources indicating that several more arrests are likely as the federal agency unravels the full extent of the conspiracy.
