Noida authority FD case: Police make 10th arrest

NOIDA: A man, wanted in a case related to defrauding the Noida authority in 2023 in a fixed deposit scam, was arrested on Friday from Delhi by the Noida crime branch, and the Sector-58 police, officers said on Saturday, adding that the arrest has pushed the tally of arrests in the case to 10.

Police identified the accused as Varun Kumar Tyagi who was absconding since the case came to light in July, 2023. He carried a reward of ₹25,000 for his arrest. He was allegedly the key facilitator in the fraudulent account setup, fund diversion, and document forgery, said officers.

Deputy commissioner of police (Central Noida) Shakti Mohan Awasthi said, “The arrest of Varun Tyagi marks a significant breakthrough in our ongoing investigation into the fraudulent fixed deposit case involving Noida authority. Our teams worked in coordination to trace and apprehend the accused from Delhi.”

To be sure, police have already arrested key conspirators in the case namely Manu Bhola (mastermind), Khader, Rajesh Pandey, Sudhir, Murari, Rajesh Babu, Tridib Das, Rahul Mishra alias Gaurav Sharma, and Ajay Kumar Patel.

Tyagi allegedly impersonated a Noida authority employee, and was part of a larger network that created forged documents to open a fake account in the name of the authority at the Bank of India, Sector 62, officers said.

The case surfaced after a senior Noida authority official lodged a first information report (FIR) on July 4, 2023, alleging that ₹200 crore had been transferred from two public banks to Bank of India for creating high interest FDs.

According to the FIR, the bank initially confirmed account creation and provided two FDs worth ₹100 crore each. However, a subsequent verification revealed that the FDs were never created, and ₹3.90 crore had been allegedly siphoned off from the account on June 30, 2023. The bank later managed to stop a further transfer of ₹9 crore.

A case was registered under sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 120B, and 409 of the Indian Penal Code sections.

An investigation found that alleged forged signatures of the finance controller and other officers were used, and the FD documents submitted to Noida authority were fabricated. The account was allegedly operated by Abdul Khader, posing as an authorised account holder. He has already been arrested, officers said.

During police interrogation, the accused (Tyagi) revealed that he, along with others, created a fake ₹200 crore FD in the name of Noida authority at Bank of India, Sector 62. Of this, ₹3.90 crore was transferred into three different accounts, and while trying to transfer ₹9 crore more, the bank grew suspicious and Khader was arrested, officers said.

The withdrawn money was collected in cash through hawala channels in Delhi by Khader, Rajesh Pandey, Sudhir, Murari, Rajesh Babu, and others, he told police.

Tyagi admitted to his alleged involvement and revealed that he received ₹4 lakh for the job. He also confessed to the police to using only his last name “Tyagi” among his co-accused to conceal his identity and avoid arrest, police said.

The accused, Tyagi, meanwhile, has been remanded to judicial custody and further legal proceedings are underway, said officers.