CBI arrests Airports Authority manager for Rs 232 crore embezzlement

New Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested Rahul Vijay, a Senior Manager with the Airports Authority of India (AAI), on charges of embezzling public funds worth nearly Rs 232 crore, a statement from the agency said on Saturday.

The case was registered following a complaint from AAI, which alleged that Vijay, during his posting at Dehradun Airport, masterminded a systematic scheme of fraud by manipulating both official and electronic records.

The CBI investigated the case on the basis of the complaint of the AAI.

According to the CBI, between 2019-20 and 2022-23, the accused created duplicate and fictitious assets, and inflated the value of existing ones -- sometimes by simply adding zeros to the entries -- to evade scrutiny.

Through these manipulations, about Rs 232 crore was allegedly diverted into his personal bank accounts.

Preliminary investigation has revealed that Vijay subsequently transferred large portions of the misappropriated money into trading accounts, using them for speculative transactions and siphoning public funds for personal gain.

It has been alleged that Vijay, who was the authorised signatory in AAI's official bank accounts with the State Bank of India, created three different user IDs to facilitate a clandestine transfer of funds.

According to the CBI, Vijay transferred money to a contractor of the AAl, and for the same work, he transferred money to his own account by inflating the figures.

On August 28, CBI teams carried out searches at his official and residential premises in Jaipur. The raids led to the recovery of incriminating documents, including records related to immovable properties, valuable securities, and other assets suspected to be linked to the fraud.

Vijay has since been arrested, and officials said further investigation is underway to trace the money trail and identify possible collusion.

--IANS

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