Rs 5.40 Cr fraud: TGCSB arrests three Hyderabadis who arranged bank accounts to park swindled money

Hyderabad: Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) has arrested three persons who helped perpetrators of Rs 5.40 crore financial scam by providing bank account information of friends and family members to park swindled money.

TGCSB Director Shikha Goel said the three arrested were identified as Mohammed Rizwan, a Rapido rider, Mohammed Ilyas, a food delivery boy in Zomato, and Syed Gulam Askari, who is a car sales and service dealer.

All three of them are residents of Hyderabad. Four mobile phones were also seized from their possession, she said.

Shikha Goel said that the man who lost Rs 5.40 crore filed a complaint at the Cyber Crime Police Station on June 29. On the same day, the arrests were made as part of the investigation. The fraud involved the partial withdrawal of funds from bank accounts and their subsequent conversion into US dollars.

Modus Operandi:

The TGCSB director said that the accused used 17 bank accounts belonging to their acquaintances and shared these details with Syed Gulam Mustafa, the brother of Askari who is residing in Dubai. Cyber fraudsters then transferred illegal funds into these accounts.

On the same day, Ilyas and Rizwan, along with the account holders, visited banks to withdraw the funds, offering a 10 percent commission to the account holders. Ilyas and Rizwan received Rs 20,000 for each withdrawal, while the remaining amount was handed over to Askari, she said.

Shikha Goel said that following instructions from his brother Mustafa, these funds were passed to local agents, who converted the money into USD and sent it to Mustafa's crypto wallet. To date, the accused have withdrawn Rs. 1.34 crore from 17 different bank accounts. These accounts are learnt to be linked to 26 other cyber crimes reported across the country.

“Investigation is underway to ascertain the identity of the bank account holders and the complicity of bank officials, if any. Also, efforts are underway to apprehend the other accused,” the TGCSB director said.

Public Appeal:

The TGCSB urged the public to stay vigilant and report any suspicious activity, particularly involving individuals seeking to use their bank accounts for depositing foreign funds.

Fraudsters often lure account holders into these schemes by offering commissions, leading to the misuse of their identities for illegal activities.

Those who knowingly sell their bank accounts or SIM cards are warned that they may face severe legal consequences.