New Delhi, August 29
The Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) arrested two people, including the Shamshergunj branch manager of State Bank of India, in connection with a Rs 175 crore fraud.
The arrested have been identified as the bank manager, Madhu Babu Gali, 49, from Hyderabad, and Upadhya Sandeep Sharma, 34, who is a gym trainer from Ranga Reddy.
The police stated that accused Madhu Babu Gali allegedly colluded with fraudsters to open current bank accounts used for the fraudulent diversion of funds. He received commissions for facilitating these illegal activities.
The operation was carried out by a team led by Deputy Superintendents of Police Hari Krishna and KVM Prasad.
As per the case details, the Cybersecurity Bureau's data analysis team had detected numerous complaints reported on the NCRP portal against six bank accounts in SBI, Shamsheer Gunj.
The team focused on this issue, and on verification, it was found that large sums of money were transacted through these accounts within a short period of two months - March and April 2024. The account holders were suspected of being involved in large-scale cyber fraud. Approximately 600 complaints are linked to these accounts.
The main fraudster, operating from Dubai, and his five associates lured poor people into opening bank accounts and supplying them for use in cybercrimes and hawala operations on a commission basis.
On August 24, the police first arrested Mohammed Shoeb Tauqeer and Mahmood Bin Ahmed Bawazir for their involvement.
Shoeb played a key role in opening bank accounts and preparing documents. After opening the accounts, the signatures of the account holders were taken on cheques, which were then kept in the custody of one of the associates. Some of the money was sent to Dubai through cryptocurrency, added officials.
The associates withdrew the money following the directions of the main fraudster and distributed it to individuals through his agents.
Shoeb and the others convinced poor people to open six current accounts in SBI's Shamsheer Gunj branch in February 2024, luring them with commissions. In March and April, significant transactions happened in these six accounts, totalling approximately Rs. 175 crore.
The Telangana Cyber Security Bureau in a statement urged the public to be vigilant and avoid opening bank accounts on behalf of others or engaging in suspicious financial activities. It emphasised the importance of verifying the identity of anyone requesting the opening of a bank account and monitoring account activity closely.
Anyone who suspects they may have opened a "mule" account, which is used to launder money, is advised to report it immediately to the authorities via the cybercrime helpline (1930) or the website cybercrime.gov.in., it added.
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