The South Cyber Police have arrested a habitual offender involved in providing bank accounts for various cyber crimes. The accused, identified as Kaif Ibrahim Mansuri (31), was found in possession of 33 debit cards and 12 cheque books belonging to different banks.
A police officer said that the arrested accused deducted his commission from the money received through cyber fraud and sent the remaining amount to an Angadia trader in Kerala and that trader sent the money to a person in Dubai.
The complaint was lodged by a 75-year-old retired ship captain residing in the Wood House Road area of Colaba. The victim, who retired in 1985 and later worked in another company until 2006, had a keen interest in stock market investments. Exploiting this interest, cyber fraudsters lured him with promises of lucrative returns through investments in Motilal Oswal stocks. Between August 19 and November 16, the victim was duped of a staggering ₹11.16 crore.
Initially, the victim saw profits in his investment account. However, when he attempted to withdraw funds, he was asked to pay 20% of the amount as service tax. Realizing he was being scammed, the victim approached the South Cyber Police Station and filed a complaint.
During the investigation, it was revealed that the fraudsters used multiple bank accounts to siphon the money. The victim had transferred funds through 22 transactions. While tracking two of these accounts, the police discovered that ₹6 lakh had been withdrawn via cheque by a woman. The woman had submitted a PAN card as KYC documentation for the withdrawal.
Upon questioning, the woman admitted to withdrawing the money on Kaif Mansuri’s instructions. Acting on this information, the police apprehended Mansuri from Noor Palace, Mohammed Ali Road. He was found in possession of debit cards linked to five bank accounts used in the fraud. These accounts had been used to transfer ₹44 lakh from the victim’s funds.
The police have initiated further investigations to uncover additional links in the case.