Chandigarh Smart City Limited deposited ₹116 crore in fixed deposits at IDFC First Bank. The bank checked its records and said: those FDRs don't exist. Turns out the smartest thing about Smart City was the scam.
In what might be India's most innovative contribution to fintech, someone created 11 fake Fixed Deposit Receipts worth ₹116 crore in IDFC First Bank's Sector 32 branch between March 28 and April 6, 2025 — all in the name of Chandigarh Smart City Limited. When authorities eventually checked, the bank cheerfully informed them the FDRs simply did not appear in their system. A dedicated account was opened just before CSCL's closure, and all remaining funds were transferred into it for 'operational and maintenance costs' — a phrase doing enormous heavy lifting here. The Municipal Corporation has now requested a full CAG audit of CSCL's ₹900+ crore spending, much of which was already mired in controversy. The case has been referred to Chandigarh Police, who will presumably investigate whether the money is hiding in the same dimension as the FDRs.