Mumbai: The West Region Cyber Police Station have busted an inter-state cyber fraud racket and arrested six accused who allegedly duped a reputed company of Rs 1.93 crore by impersonating a director on WhatsApp.
Between April 12 and 15, a senior employee at a well-known company received WhatsApp messages from an unknown number claiming to be the company director.
The fraudster manipulated the employee into transferring ₹1.93 crore to an ICICI Bank account. Investigation revealed that the same account was linked to at least 11 other complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
The police conducted a technical analysis and arrested six accused from Pune, Nashik, Mumbai, Goa, and Uttar Pradesh. The arrested have been identified as Shubham Bajirao Kunjir (Pune), Akshay Shelke (Nashik), Ujjwal Singh (Andheri, Mumbai), Shubhamkumar Pardeshi (Nashik), Aditya Shinde alias Lucifer (Goa), and Ayarn Mishra alias Sinchan Bohra (Uttar Pradesh).
The gang’s modus operandi included procuring fake SIM cards, opening bank accounts in others’ names, collecting banking kits, and stealing internet banking credentials, which they shared with Chinese cyber criminals. Some members were also involved in converting the siphoned money into cryptocurrency and foreign currency for laundering.
Police seized 28 mobile phones, one laptop, 16 SIM cards, multiple chequebooks, debit cards, a pistol, and four live rounds from the accused. The investigation is ongoing to trace the international links and additional beneficiaries involved in the racket.
The West region Cyber Police Station of Mumbai Crime Branch has busted a sophisticated cyber fraud racket involving impersonation of a company director via WhatsApp and siphoning off Rs 1.93 crore from a corporate bank account. The investigation also led to the seizure of illegal arms and the arrest of six accused from various parts of India.
Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered under BNS Sections 61, 319(2), 318(4), and 238, along with relevant sections of the Information Technology Act Sections 66C, 66D and the Arms Act Sections 3, 25 at West region Cyber Police Station.
During the investigation, the cyber team identified key operatives including Shubham Bajirao Kunjir (28, Pune) – Beneficiary bank account holder, Akshay Gorakh Shelke (28, Nashik), Ujjwal Raj Avadhesh Kumar Singh (29, Andheri West, Mumbai), Shubhamkumar Jaypal Singh Pardeshi alias Rajput (28, Nashik)
(Accused 2 to 4 brought account holders to Mumbai, obtained their banking kits and supplied them for cyber crime.), Aditya Dilip Shinde alias Lucifer (31, Goa) – Coordinated with the group and passed on account details.
Iron Shivpal Mishra alias Sinchan Nohra alias Aaru (33, Lucknow, UP) – Supplied internet banking credentials and OTPs to Chinese cyber fraudsters via Telegram SMS.apk file. Also involved in converting stolen funds into cryptocurrency (USDT) and allegedly maintained direct contact with international cyber criminals.
Seized items from the accused include 28 mobile phones, 1 laptop, 16 SIM cards, 13 cheque books and 8 debit cards, 1 pistol with 4 live cartridges recovered from Accused Iron.
Investigations revealed that 11 cyber crime complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal are linked to the accounts seized in this case, suggesting the gang had defrauded people of crores of rupees across India.
