In Rs 175 Crore SBI Branch Fraud, “Mule Accounts” Used To Send Money
The manager of a State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Hyderabad and his associates have been arrested in a fraud case worth Rs 175 crore.
The SBI branch manager in the city’s Shamsheer Gunj area colluded with fraudsters, facilitating the opening of current accounts, aiding in withdrawal of funds, and orchestrating diversion of money, all in exchange for commissions, officers of the Cybersecurity Bureau Headquarters in Hyderabad told NDTV.
The branch manager Madhu Babu Gali, 49, and a gym trainer, Upadhya Sandeep Sharma, 34, have been arrested in the Rs 175 crore scam. A case has been filed against them.
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 Cybersecurity Bureau arrested two individuals, Mohammed Shoeb Tauqeer and Mahmood Bin Ahmed Bawazir for their involvement in the Rs 175 crore scam.
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.
The associates withdrew the money following the directions of the main fraudster and distributed it to individuals through his agents.
Following the main fraudster’s directions, 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 public is cautioned not to open a bank account for someone else or engage in suspicious transactions, the police said. If you have already opened a mule account, report it to 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in.
This operation was organized by Deputy SPs Hari Krishna and KVM Prasad under the supervision of SP Devender Singh. Inspectors D Srinu, Mahender, and constables Venkat Goud, Syed Taher, Krishna Swamy and Shanker participated in the operation.
