Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 30: In one of the most significant financial fraud cases involving a public official in recent years, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested Rahul Vijay, a Senior Manager with the Airports Authority of India (AAI), for allegedly embezzling nearly Rs 232 crore during his tenure at Dehradun Airport.

The CBI acted on a complaint filed by AAI, which accused Vijay of orchestrating a multi-year scam between 2019 and 2023. According to investigators, he manipulated official records and electronic systems by fabricating duplicate assets and inflating values—sometimes by merely adding zeros to existing figures. These inflated values enabled him to discreetly siphon vast sums into his personal bank accounts.

Vijay, who had access as an authorised signatory to AAI’s official State Bank of India accounts, reportedly created three separate user IDs to secretly transfer funds. In one instance, he allegedly paid a contractor for services and simultaneously routed inflated payments for the same work into his own account.

The CBI also uncovered that large portions of the embezzled funds were funneled into trading accounts for speculative investments. On August 28, searches at Vijay’s properties in Jaipur led to the seizure of documents related to real estate, securities, and other potentially illicit assets.

He has been taken into custody, and authorities are now working to track the full money trail and investigate potential collaborators in the scheme. The arrest highlights growing concerns over financial oversight in public sector enterprises.