Three bank officials have been arrested in Rajkot, Gujarat, for their alleged involvement in a massive Rs 2,500 crore cyber fraud, highlighting the growing threat of financial cybercrime.
Key Points
- Three bank officials from Yes Bank, Axis Bank, and HDFC Bank have been arrested in connection with a Rs 2,500 crore cyber fraud in Gujarat.
- The arrested officials allegedly facilitated the opening and management of fraudulent accounts, bypassing banking alerts for high-value transactions.
- Police have identified 85 bank accounts linked to the cyber fraud racket, with over 500 complaints filed.
- The accused are alleged to have used fake identities and misrepresented documentation to prevent suspicious transactions from being flagged.
Three officials of leading private banks have been arrested for their alleged involvement in a Rs 2,500-crore cyber fraud in Gujarat's Rajkot district, raising the number of those held in the case to 20, police said.
So far, police have identified 85 bank accounts linked to the racket, with 535 complaints filed on the cybercrime portal.
Those arrested have been identified as Maulik Kamani, a personal manager at Yes Bank in Padadhari; Kalpesh Dangariya, a manager at Axis Bank in Jamnagar; and Anurag Baldha, a personal banker with HDFC Bank, Rajkot (Rural) Superintendent of Police Vijay Gurjar said on Monday.
Dangariya and Baldha were previously employed with Yes Bank, he added.
Modus Operandi of the Cyber Fraud
Kamani allegedly assisted the earlier arrested accused in opening and managing suspicious accounts. He also helped bypass banking alerts triggered by high-value transactions by submitting additional documentation to keep accounts active, the SP said.
The official said Kamani was allegedly involved in cash withdrawals that were later routed through hawala channels (an illegal money transfer system), supported by digital evidence recovered from his mobile device.
Dangariya is accused of facilitating the opening of fraudulent accounts using fake or misrepresented identities, police said.
Role of Bank Officials in the Cyber Crime
He also assisted in structuring documentation, including Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC)-related papers, to prevent transactions from being flagged as suspicious, they said.
On the other hand, Baldha opened new accounts after verification and certification processes as part of the racket, Gurjar informed.
All three accused are in police custody, while others are in jail under judicial remand, the official added.
The total transaction linked to the cyber fraud exceeds Rs 2,500 crore, police said.
The earlier fraud amount was pegged by police at Rs 1,500 crore.
