Major financial fraud uncovered in Bhadrak: Vigilance arrests Chandbali Sub-Treasury staffer and 5 others

by · KalingaTV

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Bhadrak: Odisha Vigilance has uncovered a major financial fraud in Bhadrak district and arrested six persons including a Chandbali Sub-Treasury staffer.

Santosh Kumar Panda, the former senior Assistant of Sub-Treasury Office of Chandbali along with five of his associates was arrested by the Vigilance officials and forwarded to the Court of Special Judge, Vigilance, Balasore for their alleged involvement in Rs 8 crore financial fraud.

Panda is accused of masterminding a prolonged criminal conspiracy that resulted in the misappropriation of Rs 8,04,76,146 from the State Exchequer between 2018 and 2023.

The investigation reveals a sophisticated manipulation of the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS), exploiting the trust-based digital workflow between clerks and authorizing officers.

According to reports, a genuine Pension, Gratuity, or Commutation of Value of Pension (CVP) bill is processed and paid to a real pensioner. However, Panda was waiting for 5 to 6 months after the genuine transaction was completed to avoid immediate detection.

Using his official Login ID and Password, Panda accessed the “Gratuity Payment Menu” on the IFMS Portal. He re-entered the original Pension Payment Order (PPO) number and ID of the genuine pensioner. Instead of the pensioner’s account, he generated a “Third-Party GPO (Govt. Pension Order) ID,” diverting the funds to his associates.

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The Sub-Treasury Officer (the approving authority) allegedly approved these bills using a separate login without verifying if the bill had already been paid or if the beneficiary details matched the original authority.

Statistical Breakdown:

  • The scale of the misappropriation is evidenced by the volume of transactions and the network involved:
  • TOTAL AMOUNT: Rs 8,04,76,146.
  • TIME FRAME: July 25, 2018, to May 4, 2023.
  • TRANSACTIONS: 102 individual fraudulent bills
  • THE NETWORK: Funds were funneled into 44 different bank accounts belonging to 37 private individuals (associates of Panda).

In this connection, Odisha Vigilance has registered a case vide Vigilance Cell PS Case No.03/2026 against Santosh Kumar Panda and his associates namely Siba Shankar Samal, Deb Shankar Samal, Prafulla Kumar Rout, Sandip Kumar Mitra, and Abhay Kumar Panda U/s 13(2) r/w 13(1)(a) Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018/406/409/467/468/471/477/120-B IPC.

Further investigation is ongoing to identify and apprehend the other associates and officials who may have facilitated the embezzlement.

Also Read: Odisha Vigilance Tops In Country In Securing Conviction Of 150 Accused Persons In 2024

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