A number of complaints were detected by the data analysis team of the Cybersecurity Bureau.
Hyderabad:
The manager of the State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Hyderabad and his associates have been arrested in a Rs 175 crore fraud case.
Officials at the Cybersecurity Bureau headquarters in Hyderabad told NDTV that the SBI branch manager in Shamsherganj area of the city colluded with the fraudsters, facilitated the opening of current accounts, helped withdraw funds, And arranged the transfer of money in lieu of commission.
Branch manager Madhav Babu Gali, 49, and a gym trainer, Upadhyay Sandeep Sharma, 34, have been arrested in the Rs 175 crore scam. A case has been registered against them.
The Cybersecurity Bureau's data analysis team had detected multiple complaints against six bank accounts at SBI, Shamshirganj on the NCRP portal. The team zeroed in on the issue, and on verification found that large amounts of money were transacted through these accounts in a short span of two months, i.e. March and April 2024. The account holders were widely suspected of cyber involvement. Fraud About 600 complaints are linked to these accounts.
The main fraudster, operating from Dubai, and his five accomplices lured poor people into opening bank accounts and supplying them for use in cybercrimes and extradition operations on a commission basis.
On August 24, the Cyber Security Bureau arrested two persons, Muhammad Shoaib Tauqeer and Mahmood bin Ahmad Bawaz, for their involvement in the Rs 175 crore scam.
Shoaib played a key role in opening bank accounts and preparing documents. After the accounts were opened, signatures of the account holders were taken on the cheques, which were later kept in the custody of an associate. Some of the money was sent to Dubai through cryptocurrency.
The accomplices withdrew the money on the instructions of the master fraudster and distributed it to the people through their agents.
Acting on the instructions of the master fraudster, Shoaib and others enticed poor people to open six current accounts at SBI's Shamsherganj branch in February 2024 by luring them with commissions. In March and April, these six accounts saw significant transactions, totaling around Rs 175 crore.
The public is cautioned not to open a bank account for anyone else or engage in suspicious transactions, police said. If you have already opened a mule account, report it to 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in.
The operation was organized by Deputy SP Harikrishna and KVM Prasad under the supervision of SP Devendra Singh. Inspector D Serino, Mahendra and Constables Venkat Gaur, Syed Tahir, Krishna Swamy and Shankar participated in the operation.