65 bank accounts found frozen after pan-India misuse in cyber fraud

Gurugram: Sixty-five bank accounts allegedly opened by two deputy managers and an assistant manager of a private bank’s MG Road branch were frozen on directions of various law enforcement agencies for their misuse in cyber frauds pan India, police said on Wednesday.

The facts emerged on Wednesday when police received responses to several queries made to the bank after the arrest of three of its executives for their alleged connivance with a large Nuh-based cyber fraud gang, said deputy commissioner of police (cybercrime) Siddhant Jain.

Jain said that the number of accounts with a freeze on them would climb much beyond 65 once details of more accounts used in cybercrimes emerged as part of the investigation.

Assistant manager Mohit Rathi was arrested from Bilaspur on February 21, deputy managers Mahesh Kumar from Kalwadi on February 22 and Vishwakarma Maurya from Manesar along with cybercriminal Mohammad Hayat from Mewat on Monday during the investigation of a cyber fraud case of ₹10000 involving a retired Border Security Force (BSF) personnel which was registered at the Cybercrime police station (Manesar) on February 17.

Jain said that the account at MG road branch in which the amount of ₹10000 was transferred was opened in the name of Mohammad Mustafa, an employee of a warehouse in Bilaspur who didn’t have an inkling that such an account exists in his name.

“The bank executives had linked a mobile phone number provided by Hayat with the account issued in the name of one Ravi Kumar of Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh,” DCP Jain said. He said that police suspected that either the SIM card was issued based on forged documents or Ravi’s documents were misused to get the connection.

“A team will head to Sambhal for physical verification of the address and the person. Some SIM card retailers are also under our scanner. At least, 20 SIM cards were found to be used for opening fraudulent accounts by the three executives whose addresses will be verified,” he said.

Investigators said that when questioned, Maurya denied opening any forged account but several of the 65 frozen accounts were activated using his internal banking login ID.

Investigators said at least 2000 bank accounts were opened by Kumar, Maurya and Rathi in the last seven months and investigation was on with the bank’s help to ascertain exactly how many of them were fake and internet banking details and debit cards of how many people were supplied to the gang in Nuh via Hayat. For every account kit supplied to the gang, the executives received ₹15000 cash, sent to them via Hayat.