Hyderabad: IRDAI assistant manager booked for `siphoning off’ Rs 5.3 crore

Hyderabad: Cyberabad Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has booked an assistant manager of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) for allegedly siphoning off more than Rs 5.3 crore from the regulator’s accounts over nine months.

Fraud unearthed during audit

The alleged misappropriation was detected during an internal audit of IRDAI accounts. The audit flagged unusually high vendor payouts cleared between July 2024 and April 2025.

At least eight suspicious transactions, ranging from Rs 88,001 to over Rs 24 lakh, were traced to a single State Bank of India account. Subsequent scrutiny uncovered four more accounts opened in fictitious names unrelated to IRDAI’s empanelled vendors.

Complaint by senior official

IRDAI’s general manager (administration & HR) Deepak Khanna lodged a complaint against assistant manager B.H. Suryanarayana Sastry (43). He alleged that Sastry manipulated vendor invoices and diverted the money to multiple personal accounts. According to the complaint, Sastry admitted to the diversion when confronted during the internal probe.

Immediate action by IRDAI

Following the revelation, IRDAI suspended Sastry on August 21 and initiated disciplinary proceedings under its 2016 staff regulations. “Nearly Rs 5.3 crore was diverted to non-vendor accounts. These funds were misappropriated, causing financial loss to IRDAI,” Khanna stated in his complaint.

EOW case under BNS sections

Based on the complaint, the EOW registered a case against Sastry and others under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The charges include: Cheating & dishonest inducement – Section 318(4), Criminal breach of trust by public servant – Section 316(5), Forgery of valuable security – Section 338, Forgery for cheating – Section 336(3), Using forged documents – Section 340(2), Falsification of accounts – Section 344, and Criminal conspiracy – Section 61(2).

Officials said the case is under investigation. No arrests have been made so far.