Mumbai: Cops nab bank officer behind fake corporate salary accounts

The fraud came to light when the complainant applied for a gas agency on a website where he was conned. Representation pic

The Powai police recently arrested the sales manager of a multinational bank, for allegedly creating hundreds of fake corporate salary accounts based on KYC documents taken from labourers, factory workers and even corporate staff. He sent the accounts' details to fraudsters in Bihar and other states. They allegedly used them to deposit the amounts obtained from committing cyber fraud.

According to the police, between May 2022 and February 2023, the accused opened a total of 1,651 corporate salary accounts. Further investigation is on to determine how many of these are genuine and how many are bogus.

The con came to light when the Powai police were investigating a cyber fraud case which was reported to them in the month of January this year said an officer.

New business idea

The 29-year-old victim who lives in Powai wanted to start a new business, a gas agency. He came across a website for the same and uploaded his information on it. A couple of days later he got an email and was told he had been selected for an agency.

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He received a call from a person who claimed to be an officer from the government gas agency. He asked him to upload his PAN and Aadhaar card details on a website and to deposit processing fees. The victim transferred about R6.88 lakh into the accounts he was told of.

Later the accused started demanding more money on the pretext of various processing fees and charges. Realising that he was cheated, the victim registered the case with the Powai police in the month of January.

Under the guidance of DCP Maheshwar Reddi and Sub-Inspector Sudhir Pilane a team led by Senior Inspector Budhan Sawant started investigation. They got information about a bank account and that the KYC for it in the crime was done by a particular person. It was also found that the KYC and signature verifications of those documents were done by this person, an officer in a Pune branch of a multinational bank.

A police team went to Pune and arrested the sales manager of the bank, who was identified as Arshad Attar, 27, the officer added. Attar was brought to Mumbai on March 31 and produced before the court which remanded him in police custody.

The police said Attar would open corporate salary accounts and send the welcome kits to persons who stayed in Bihar and other states. The police said these people used these accounts to deposit the amounts obtained from committing cyber fraud.

Modus operandi

Documents used to open corporate salary accounts were taken from labourers and staff working in factories. The arrested accused also used to go to various companies to open salary bank accounts of their employees.

Once the salary accounts were opened, using the same documents the accused would open other salary accounts under other company names and send those accounts' welcome kits and details to the fraudsters.

The police said it appears many more persons are involved in this crime. Several teams have been formed and sent to other states in search of the accused.