The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed an FIR against a senior manager of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for allegedly embezzling over ₹232 crore. Rahul Vijay, who was working as a Senior Manager (Finance and Accounts), is accused of diverting the funds into his personal accounts through fraudulent accounting entries and inflation of assets. The alleged illegal activities occurred during his posting at Dehradun airport between 2019-20 and 2022-23.

The alleged fraud was discovered during an internal audit that revealed irregularities in the capitalisation of assets. Following the audit, AAI formed a committee to verify the findings, which confirmed the presence of fictitious accounting entries, inflated assets, and unauthorized fund transfers. A formal complaint was lodged with the CBI on August 18 by Chandrakanth P, another AAI Senior Manager (Finance), which led to the registration of the FIR. The CBI's Economic Offences Unit is currently investigating the case.

According to investigators, Rahul Vijay, who was an authorized signatory of AAI's bank accounts with the State Bank of India, created three different user IDs to facilitate the clandestine transfer of funds. Initially, he allegedly tested the system with minor transactions before escalating to larger amounts.

One specific instance cited in the complaint involves the New Terminal Building Phase I electrical work. On September 29, 2021, Vijay allegedly recorded genuine assets worth ₹67.81 crore. However, the following day, he purportedly duplicated the entries and added an extra zero to inflate the figures to ₹189 crore, which was then transferred to his personal account. The complaint also alleges that fraudulent entries worth ₹43 crore were charged under various revenue expenditure heads during the same period. Furthermore, funds were allegedly routed to an AAI contractor, with inflated amounts subsequently transferred to Vijay's own account.

The AAI alleges that Vijay misused his position as an authorized signatory to transfer funds to his personal account, disguising them as funds utilized for asset creation. The agency also claims that ₹43 crore was disbursed under different revenue expenditure heads during Vijay's tenure at the Dehradun airport. At the time of the alleged irregularities, Vijay headed the finance and accounts vertical at AAI's Dehradun airport from 2019 to 2023. He is currently posted at the Jaipur airport in the same capacity.