Nagpur: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked former bank employee Rattandeep Borkar for allegedly orchestrating a fraudulent tax refund scheme using his previous access to Canara Bank’s systems. The scam, which came to light following an Income Tax Department probe, involves the wrongful claim of TDS refunds amounting to over Rs 1.26 crore.
According to the CBI FIR, Borkar, who earlier worked with Canara Bank, continued to misuse his login credentials even after his services with the bank were discontinued. These credentials, which remained active, allowed him unauthorized access to the bank’s systems.
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25 July 2025
Borkar is accused of identifying cases between the financial years 2011-12 and 2018-19 where TDS had been deducted, but the Permanent Account Number (PAN) details were missing. Exploiting this loophole, he revised the TDS returns by inserting PANs of 92 individuals known to him. The refunds, issued in the names of these individuals, were then allegedly shared with Borkar, as per the CBI’s findings.
The fraudulent returns were filed through Canara Bank’s Gandhi Nagar, Sitabuldi, Ramdaspeth, and Sadar branches in Nagpur. Sources revealed that many of the targeted accounts belonged to senior citizens, who often lack PAN details, making them vulnerable to such exploitation.
The CBI FIR also names unknown officials of the public sector bank, suggesting that the fraud could not have been executed without insider involvement. Borkar is believed to have tampered with key files such as the original ‘conso’ file and unique token numbers using file validation and return preparation utilities. He also allegedly forged signatures of Canara Bank officials and generated Form 27A to complete the process, enabling the refunds to be directed into accounts of his associates.
The revised and fraudulent refund claims were processed between July 2023 and September 2024. Meanwhile, the Income Tax Department has issued notices to the beneficiaries whose PAN details were used in the scam.
Further investigations are underway to identify other possible collaborators in the racket.
