IRDAI official held in ₹5.30 crore fund diversion case

An Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) officer was arrested by the Cyberabad’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for allegedly diverting and misappropriating funds amounting to ₹5.30 crore.

The accused, Bhaskarabhatla Suryanarayana Sastry, Assistant Manager in General Administration at IRDAI and a resident of Shaikpet, Hyderabad, was booked by the EOW of Cyberabad for offences under Sections 318(4), 316(5), 338, 336(3), 340(2), 344 read with 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

An officer from the EOW said that Sastry had taken hand loans from several people and fallen into a debt trap. “To repay his debts, he hatched a plan to divert IRDAI funds. He allegedly created fake invoices, office notes, quotations and other documents, and processed payment files for approval from higher officials. He then replaced the bank account details of the original vendors with those belonging to his family members,” explained the officer.

Once the higher officials approved the files, Sastry forwarded them to the Accounts Department along with the forged invoices and quotations. Believing the approvals were genuine, the Accounts Department processed the payments, which were then diverted into the accounts of Sastry and his family members.

According to EOW, this modus operandi enabled him to misappropriate funds and cause a wrongful loss of ₹5.30 crore to IRDAI.

Cyberabad Police have appealed to government offices and companies to exercise caution while transferring funds and to verify the legitimacy of invoices before processing payments.