Archive · 9 Aug 2026
IDFC First Bank CEO prioritises accountability after ₹646 crore fraud
Some people who worked at one branch of a bank found a way to take money that was not theirs.
The branch was in a city called Chandigarh, and the missing money was ₹646 crore, which is a very large amount.
The bank's leader, V. Vaidyanathan, flew to Chandigarh on the very same day the problem became public.
He wanted to promise officials that the bank would fix things and do the right thing.
The problem was found when a government office in Haryana tried to move its money and saw that the amount did not match.
The bank gave back the money with interest very quickly, on the same working day.
It also checked accounts all over the country to make sure nobody else was missing money, and no other customer had a problem.
A special team of experts confirmed that only the Chandigarh branch was involved.
The bank has now added extra checks so this does not happen again.
Even with the fraud, the bank still made a profit, though less than it would have made without it.
A ₹646 crore fraud involving colluding employees at IDFC First Bank's Chandigarh branch was discovered in February 2026.
CEO V. Vaidyanathan flew to Chandigarh the same day the fraud became public to assure senior administrative officials of the bank's commitment.
A KPMG forensic review, code-named Project Ultra, confirmed the fraud was confined to the Chandigarh branch.
The fraud surfaced when a Haryana government department found its account balance did not match expectations while closing its account.
The bank said FY26 net profit rose 7% to ₹1,636 crore, and would have been ₹2,119 crore without the fraud.
- Who
- IDFC First Bank managing director and CEO V. Vaidyanathan, and bank employees at the Chandigarh branch who colluded with customer representatives and outsiders
- What
- A ₹646 crore fraud involving unauthorized transactions at the bank's Chandigarh branch
- When
- Discovered in February 2026 and disclosed late on 21 February 2026; detailed in the bank's FY26 annual report released on Sunday
- Where
- Chandigarh, India
- Why
- Branch employees colluded with customer employees and outsiders to bypass machine-learning-based monitoring controls and push through unauthorized transactions
- Fraud amount
- ₹646 crore
- Branch involved
- Chandigarh
- Fraud discovered
- February 2026; disclosed 21 February 2026
- CEO response
- V. Vaidyanathan flew to Chandigarh the same day the fraud became public
- Forensic review
- KPMG review code-named Project Ultra
- FY26 net profit
- ₹1,636 crore, up 7%
- Profit without fraud
- ₹2,119 crore, up 39%
- Compensation
- Affected counterparty paid within the same working day, plus interest