The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a bank fraud case against IL&FS Energy Development Company Limited (IEDCL), its former managing director and other senior officials for allegedly causing a loss of ₹212.34 crore to Canara Bank. According to reports from PTI, the case was registered on October 21, 2026, on a complaint lodged by Canara Bank's Circle Office in Bandra (East), Mumbai. The accused have been booked for criminal conspiracy, cheating and offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, along with unknown public servants and private persons. As per the latest CBI statement, the case names the company, its managing directors and directors, along with unidentified public servants and private persons. The CBI has specifically named executives Sunil Wadhwa, Anoop Seth, Hari Sankaran, Ramesh Chandra Bawa and Arun Kumar Saha as accused in the case.
The company had been sanctioned a short-term loan of ₹100 crore under a multiple banking arrangement by the erstwhile Syndicate Bank for 12 months. As reported by PTI, the funds were intended to finance its solar park, wind energy and solar energy projects, which were being implemented through various project companies. Additionally, the London branch of the erstwhile Syndicate Bank had extended a term loan of $50 million to the company, intended for onward lending to the borrower's existing and new special purpose vehicle (SPV) projects in the infrastructure sector, or for other end-uses permitted under the Reserve Bank of India's External Commercial Borrowings guidelines. According to the CBI, the alleged conspiracy involved securing these two major credit facilities from the bank.
A forensic audit conducted by Canara Bank, into which Syndicate Bank was merged, reportedly found that the borrowed funds had been diverted and used for purchases and activities other than those for which they were sanctioned. According to the FIR, the funds were routed through group and associate entities and other transactions, allegedly involving inadequate supporting documentation and questionable accounting treatment. The audit also alleged that the company misrepresented its financial position to conceal its actual financial position, resulting in the estimated wrongful loss to the bank. Following registration of the case, CBI teams conducted searches on October 24 at premises associated with the directors and the company in Mumbai, Delhi, Noida and elsewhere, seizing bank transaction documents, deposit slips, mutual fund portfolio records, bank account details and properties belonging to the directors. During these searches, investigators seized bank transaction documents, deposit slips, mutual fund portfolio records, details of bank accounts and properties belonging to the directors, company ledgers and other financial records relevant to the probe.
The registration of the case does not establish guilt, and the allegations remain subject to investigation and the legal process. As reported by PTI, further investigation is underway to trace the ultimate end-use of the diverted funds, establish the roles of the named individuals and unknown public servants, and determine the full extent of the alleged conspiracy. The CBI stated that the investigation will now focus on tracing the final destination of the diverted funds, establishing the role of the named individuals and the unidentified public servants, and determining the full scope of the alleged conspiracy. The case against IL&FS Energy Development Company and its officials is part of ongoing investigations into banking fraud cases involving the IL&FS group companies, whose 2018 collapse led to one of India's largest corporate debt crises and multiple subsequent probes into the group's financial dealings.
